Garbage: A Pokemon Tale
by TheSlimyOne
Summary: Waking up in a world filled with nothing but Pokémon, a young man has been turned into a Trubbish and has lost most of his memories of his past life. As the land is savaged by brutal storms, he aspires to be a Rescuer as a means to protect the weak from harm. But with all sorts of chaos and hidden agendas plaguing the land, his job won't be an easy one.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Wake up, child." a powerful, bass voice resounded through the empty space like a cannon letting loose a blast. Opening his eyes, the boy took in the bizarre area as he began to gather his senses. This place sure didn't look familiar to him. As far as he could see, he was surrounded by an array of colorful lights. Like an aurora borealis, the flickering lights billowed like a neon rainbow flag, and in the middle of the lights, the boy could make out a silhouette draped in white. Trying to approach the figure was impossible, the boy couldn't move a muscle. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get even a pinky toe to so much as move an inch. It didn't take long for his heart to start racing, an ever-looming sense of dread was building in his chest as he realized his predicament.

"Do not fear," the figure reassured the boy in his captivating tone. "You are not in any danger here." While the voice was a pleasant one to hear, the boy was still on the verge of panicking. He tried to protest, to call out in fear, but his mouth stuck like the rest of his muscles. "It is only natural to fear what you can't understand. I don't blame you for feeling that way. I have done nothing to you, you are in a state of limbo, so to speak. I am here to prepare you for your next life." Next life? What on earth was he talking about? Seemingly being able to hear the boy's thoughts, the figure retorted with, "What am I talking about? I believe I made myself perfectly clear: You are on your way to your next life, boy. But before I get into that, I have a bit of something for you to complete: a quiz. And please, answer my questions sincerely." The boy's jaw lulled open, free to move again. He was a little less afraid, and more curious than anything. Was this some kind of dream? Was it an illusion? There was no way it could be real... yet, it didn't feel quite like a dream, either.

"Well... yeah. Sure, I'll take your quiz. Bring it on!" he squeaked, feeling a bit too rash for his own good. The mysterious voice simply chuckled.

"You are quite eager to begin. That's good! I admire individuals with your kind of enthusiasm. So without further ado, let us begin."

"You are walking down a street, and you find a bit of money on the ground. No one is around to see you. Would you pocket the money?" The boy felt a bit awkward, as he had done this sort of thing multiple times in his life. He knew that it wasn't a particularly heinous thing to do, but he felt like he was a naughty schoolboy being given a stern talking-to by an elementary school principal.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I would. I know it's a greedy thing to do, but it's not like they'd miss it that much, right?" he stuttered, hoping not to anger the one asking these questions. He felt like he was in the presence of a god, one that was calm as the waters of a lake, but with the power to roast him alive if he ticked him off.

"Don't worry! There aren't any "wrong answers" on this test. I just want you to be honest not only with me, but with yourself." This reassured the boy, who could feel the weight on his chest being torn off. It was clear that this voice, whatever it was, was not someone to be afraid of.

"Do you have any friends that you are jealous of?" The boy could feel that sense of guilt that weighed him down just like the first question.

"Well, yeah. I do. I'm not all that great of a person. I know all sorts of people that are funnier with me, more interesting than me, braver than me, better looking than me..." he could have gone on and on for hours, but he was abruptly cut off by the voice.

"I can clearly see that now, thank you." The boy could feel his cheeks burning like a flame in a fireplace. He didn't mean to go off on a tangent like that. He wasn't the type to pour his soul to other people. Why was he suddenly doing it with this person who he couldn't even see? And these questions were asked for quite a while. The amount of questions were as diverse as a fruit stand on a summer's day, he was asked things as silly as, "If a hand popped out of a toilet, how would you react?" (He would scream in terror and perhaps do something less than dignified in his pants), and sometimes deep, personal questions like, "Do you feel as if you belong in this world?" (He just couldn't bring himself to answer it one way or another, and the voice took it well). Question after question, he'd just continue blabbing on to this wannabe psychologist of questionable legitimacy. Just as he began to wonder if the barrage of questions would never end, the voice gave a pause.

"Well, I sure have learned a lot about you, boy. I think I now know what kind of person you are. Do you care to hear?" The boy simply replied with a meek "no". He heard the voice give a small chuckle.

"Afraid to face the truth, are you? We all are afraid to know what we truly are deep inside, so don't fret. Still, I believe that the truth is an important thing to know, and you will hear it whether you like it or not."

'_Well THANKS for giving me a choice. I sure do appreciate it_' the boy thought to himself.

"From what I deduce, you are quite a miserable person. You have no self-confidence. You seem to envy others for having what you lack. You are very hard on yourself. You see yourself as trash, and people may see you as trash, too." The voice's harsh words felt like a smack to the boy's face. He had poured out his heart and soul to this mysterious person, only to be insulted at the end? But he couldn't muster up the feelings of rage and hurt that he usually could. He just knew that this... thing was right about him. How could he be wrong? After all, he did pour out his heart and soul to it.

"But, can always be a bad thing? You are an honest person, if a bit whiny. Unlike most, you are aware of your flaws, and are able to acknowledge it. You have your positives, as well. You just need to dig down, and find these traits yourself. If you keep treating yourself like garbage, don't expect to be treated nicely by others. If there is one Pokemon that perfectly describes you, it would have to be..." As the voice paused, an image of a small creature appeared before the boy. It was small, and rather awkward looking: it was green, and resembled a bag with two large eyes staring pathetically at the boy while it frowned sheepishly with a few snaggleteeth poking out. Noticing that it's arms were gray and consisted of dull, damp paper-like materials while a few specks or blue and pink materials were spread about, it was easy to conclude that this thing was essentially a trash-bag given life. As soon as the creature appeared, it vanished without a trace. "... Trubbish." the voice said, as if its word was fact.

"Now, in a little while, you will enter the world of Pokemon, living an entirely new life as a Pokemon. What will you do? What kind of fate will befall you? What actions will you take? Those questions are ones you will need to answer for yourself." The voice then went silent. Feeling a bit tired, the boy was also infuriated by this sudden predicament.

"Hey, wait! You never answered my question! Just what is going on?! Why am I starting a new life?! Why am I going to this "World of Pokemon"?! Don't ignore me!" the boy demanded answers, but heard no response, feeling more and more tired as seconds passed. "ANSWER ME!" he screamed with all his might, "Answer... me..." he muttered as he suddenly felt incredibly overwhelmed. His vision faded to black, and everything went silent around him...


	2. Chapter 1: One Little Garbage Bag

**Garbage Act 1: A Second War**

Chapter 1: One Little Garbage Bag

The boy rose from his sleep, feeling a slight breeze as he opened his eyes and looked up at the grey, oppressive sky.

"Oh... man. Ugh..." feeling a bit woozy, the boy rose to his feet as he surveyed the area. "Ugh... wait. Wait one second! What is this place?" as adrenaline began pumping through his body, the boy felt a rough, dry grass tickling the soles of his feet. As he looked around, he noticed that he was surrounded by menacing rocks that seemed to tower over him. The grass and plants in the area were rather dull and lifeless looking, suggesting that rain was a rarity in these parts. "WHERE AM I?! WHERE'S HOME?!" he screamed as he realized that this place was _probably_ not his bedroom. '_Oh god, oh my god... what happened?_'_ Why am I out here?!_ he thought as he could feel his heart throbbing like a jackhammer in his chest. He walked over to the edge of the mountainous area, and felt an overwhelming sense of fear as he saw the huge drop off. He was quite far up the slope of a large mountain, surrounded by empty land as far as the eye could see. Much like the mountain, the grasses far beneath the mountain were dull and dry looking, with any local trees being withered, leafless husks that seemed likely to crumble at the slightest touch.

_I can't panic, _he thought to himself, _I must not panic. It seems bad, but there's probably some explanation. What I need to do is find a way off this mountain. If I ended up here, there has to be a way down. I just need to be brave._ Mustering up whatever courage he could, the boy left the edge of the cliff and began to search for what could be used as a way down. He felt a bit stupid when he noticed a rather large hole in the side of the mountain that he missed upon waking up.

'_Looks like that's my best bet,' _he thought to himself as he entered the hole. As the darkness of the cave surrounded him, the boy began to entertain himself with his thoughts as he wandered the blackened encasement, feeling the steady drop in elevation as he realized that he was walking steadily downwards. _How did I get here? This place does not look familiar to me in the slightest. _As he tried to remember his home, his mind screeched to a halt. He began to feel a bit panicky as he tried harder and harder to remember where it was, but it was like he was hitting a stone wall. _What the- what was my home? I can't remember a thing! What was my home? My family, my friends... none of it is coming to me! _And making his situation worse, he could feel his insides roiling about and aching, complaining about their lack of food. In the dark of the cave, the boy had no idea how he'd find food. He was no hunter, and he would settle for vegetation if it wasn't for the fact that everything was dusty and lifeless. As he continued down the twisting cave path, he noticed that the upcoming area was bathed in light.

'_I'm out already? Nice! I'll see if there's anything I can grab to eat out there!_'Picking up the pace, he rounded the corner, and saw that he was back outside, this time in an area that was clustered with more dead trees, but these were all splintered and broken into multiple pieces, with dead chips of wood scattered about everywhere. Feeling a sense of apprehension, he stepped forward carefully.

_I doubt just wind would destroy those trees so thoroughly, _he thought to himself as he looked around the area. _Whatever destroyed those trees is big... and scary. I hope I don't run into whatever it is. I just need to get off this mountain!_ Stepping into the clearing, he began to look around the area, gulping in fear as he saw sets of large, clawed footprints embedded in the ground. _Pokemon..._ that word immediately came to mind as he examined the large footprints. That was something he at least remembered. Pokemon were these animals that were incredibly powerful, and served humans like himself. There were over 600 of these things running around, and they could be domesticated as pets, friends, and even comrades in battle. They also made fearsome enemies, and if those tracks were the judge of anything, this was one Pokemon he did NOT want to mess with. Looking around, he saw another large cave that had more footprints leading to it.

'_Am I going to have to go in there? Yeah, if I'm feeling suicidal, then maybe'. _Turning away from the cave, he walked over to the side of the cliff, and groaned with exasperation as he saw that he was still quite a ways from ground level. "Oh come ON!" he growled as he picked up a small stone, and chucked it off the mountain with his long, gray arm in a rage.

_What in the-?!_ The boy quickly noticed that something was off about his arm. As he held out his hands in front of his face, he got a good look at the gray, lumpy masses that they had become. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" He screamed as he grabbed his face. It felt like a smooth plastic, and as he pulled at it, he noticed that it was a darkish shade of green. He was in the midst of a panic attack when he heard the grass behind him crinkle under the weight of something heavy. Watching a humongous shadow fall over him, the boy slowly turned around, and soon found him staring at a titanous Pokemon that was probably three times his height. This behemoth of a Pokemon had a rocky-looking body that was covered in steel plating, with it's large, beastial head protected by a large, helmet-like piece of body armour that had two long horns that protruded far past it's bright blue eyes. Those horns just looked perfect for goring someone much smaller than the Pokemon that owned them. The boy was shivering violently as the Pokemon's cold eyes bored holes into his soul, a tranquil fury blazing through.

"Well, well, well," the Pokemon grunted softly, "It appears I've got an intruder on MY mountain. You better explain yourself now, you little piece of garbage. I don't take _kindly _to intruders such as yourself dirtying up my home." Shaking violently with fear, the boy attempted to speak, but he couldn't utter a single word. Instead, a rather unbecoming squeal let itself loose from his mouth, causing the scary beast to give a hearty, sadistic laugh.

"Oh, so you're scared out of your skin, you little pest? You should be. It takes an IDIOT of the highest caliber to intrude on a spot that an Aggron claims as his territory." Aggron growled as he got in a combat stance.

"L-l-l-look, m-m-mister!" the boy squealed as Aggron began to bear down on him, I h-h-have no idea h-h-h-h-how I got here in th-the first place! Please, let me-"

"LIAR!" Aggron roared, causing the boy to nearly fall over by the sheer force of his words. "You came here to get at _my _food supply, just like most of the intruders I've been finding on _my _mountain! You aren't the first to get in deep trouble with me, and you WILL be the last!" and with an almighty roar of fury, Aggron, swiped straight at the boy with a large, metallic claw. Diving far to the right, the boy struggled to get on his stubby little feet as Aggron charged at him, head first, causing the boy to roll away in self defense. Colliding with the rock wall, Aggron gave an agitated roar as he tried to pry his horns free from the cracked stone. Not needing to think twice, the boy struggled to his feet and made a beeline for the cave that the Aggron came out of. As he disappeared into the darkness of the cave, he tried to head down for lower ground, he hit the wall of the cave, and fell over on his back, rolling down the inclined path, feeling dizzier and dizzier the whole time. As he hit another wall (he wasn't in too much pain due to his plastic-like skin), he got back to his feet, and noticed that that he was near yet another light source. Looking outside, the boy groaned as he noticed that he'd have to travel down a rocky wall-like path to get down. Spotting a rotting tree branch hanging down the side of the mountain, he decided to chance it as he walked back a few feet, then tried a running leap down the mountain. As he shot quickly to the ground below, he reached out for the branch, hoping to use it as a nice dropping point. Thanks to his newfound, long arms, he was able to reach the branch.

The problem was that he wasn't quite used to manipulating his new fingers, and ended up swinging upwards, then continued to fall. "OH NO!" he screamed as he continued to fall, faster and faster...and with a small thud, he hit the ground. His body ached from the drop, but he was at least grateful for the fact that he didn't fall down the mountain without stopping a bit. His poor little body would probably have imploded upon impact with the ground. If there was one thing to be said about his newfound body was that he could easily take a bit of punishment, at least a bit more than his human one could. As he staggered up to his feet, he heard a familiar, unholy roar, and looked up to see Aggron leaping off of the cliff, throwing all his weight at the boy. Giving a terrified scream, the boy dived out of the way as Aggron landed with a "thud", leaving a large crater in the earth from his impact. Standing up, a low, beastial growl rumbled deep in Aggron's throat as he glared at the boy, those eyes of his feeling colder than antarctic ice.

"You thought you could just walk away from me, didn't you? Well guess what, you little runt. This is the real world! When you make bad decisions, you've got to face the consequences! You decide to enter someone's home and steal their valuables, don't be surprised when they defend them with all their might!" Aggron then charged forth, and grabbed the boy in his metallic hand. He held him to eye level, and unleashed an almighty roar from deep within his lungs.

_No, no, no! I just woke up here! I am NOT going to let myself be killed like this! I'm going to find out exactly what happened to me, and I'm not going to let this thing kill me before I can do this! _Feeling a strange kind of warmth bubbling within, the boy began to gag as he could feel a slimy liquid rise up within his throat.

"What the- what are you doing?" Aggron snarled, confused by the boy's behavior. Giving an almighty retch, the boy sprayed a bit of sludge into the menacing Aggron's eyes. Giving an almighty screech of pain, Aggron flung the boy away from him as he began to try to get the liquid out of his eyes.

'_I better make myself scarce! I doubt I'll get that kind of chance again!' _The boy thought as he began to run as fast as his stubby little legs would let him. Which is to say, not very far at all.

Blinking rapidly as he scraped the sludge out of his eyes, Aggron ignored the burning pain in his eyes as he watched the boy try to escape. '_Oh no. I am NOT about to let that little pest run from me!' _He roared, channeling his anger and hatred for the boy into an unholy cry that would frighten the devil himself. As this metallic, scraping noise resounded through the plains, the boy fell over due to the sheer force of the scream. The noise could easily be compared to claws slowly scraping across a chalkboard, if the claws were serrated and poorly cut, and if the chalkboard in question was rough, bumpy, and worn out. Clamping his hands over where his ears probably were, the boy staggered up to his feet, but then felt himself being tossed aside like a rag doll. Smacking the dry grass face-first, the boy rolled over, and felt his eyes widen as Aggron was towering over him.

"You think you're cute, huh? You decide that you're going to insult me on MY turf not once, but twice? I can't tell if you're really brave, or as dumb as a Rhyhorn." Before the boy could get up, Aggron placed a foot over his small body, and began to press down with an almighty force. "Oh no, I'm not giving you another chance there, kid. I'm going to squash you like a bug here and now!" Aggron laughed as he pressed down harder. The boy couldn't muster a sound, the foot of the beast pressed down so hard that he couldn't breathe. As more and more force was applied, his vision started to fade slowly to black.

_No... no... not here. Please, not here... _he thought weakly, as his consciousness began to fade away as the foot came down harder and harder... but the pressure suddenly stopped. Hearing a loud clang and a pained roar, the boy gave a sharp breath as his vision came back to him. He got up, and nearly squealed in terror as he saw what appeared to be a demon standing next to him. The purple-skinned, scorpion-like creature leered at him, it's vivid yellow eyes burning as it's mouth gave a toothy, fanged smile.

"It will be alright, just hold on." the creature reassured in a soft, feminine voice as she spread her clawed arms, revealing bat-like wings. Taking a running leap, she flew straight at Aggron, and got in an offensive battle stance. As the boy watched the ongoing spectacle, he felt himself being lifted off his feet by a whip-like object coiling around his body. He soon found himself face to face with a large, frog-like Pokemon that had a towering palm-tree looking flower protruding from it's back. It was a bright red color that was nearly pink, and was plastered with milk-white spots, and smelled quite pleasant.

"You wanna sit back and watch the show, little Trubbish?" the flowery Pokemon asked in a gruff, yet kind voice as he set him on top of his flower.

"Hold on, what did you just call me?" the boy asked, upon hearing the word Trubbish. It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Trubbish. That's, you know, your species." he said in a matter of fact tone, "Now please be quiet. When Gliscor fights someone, it's always fun to watch!" Deciding not to anger the flowery Pokemon, the Trubbish boy sat back and watched the vampire/scorpion Pokemon known as Gliscor take on the raging Aggron.

"Well well well, if it isn't Aggron! Looks like we've caught up to you at last, you brute. I know you're a no-good scumbag, but trying to kill a small Pokemon like that poor Trubbish? That's a new low, even for you." Gliscor taunted as she clicked her pincers menacingly.

"So you're from that Village place from the east, eh? How much are you being paid to take care of me, I wonder? And besides, that little runt intruded on MY property! I'm just defending my possessions, lady!" Aggron growled as he lunged forth, swinging his tail in a wide arc hoping to clobber Gliscor. Grinning wildly, Gliscor leaped over the tail, and flew straight for the ironclad Pokemon's face, clamping onto his horns.

"Your possessions, eh? Hmph, your STOLEN possessions is what you really mean. I never liked bandit filth like you." She growled as she began to pull back with all her might. Aggron tried to summon another metallic scream from deep within his throat, but he wasn't fast enough to unleash it. He was pulled down onto his stomach by Gliscor, who was able to get out of the way just in time. As Aggron began to lift himself back up, Gliscor took a few steps back, then ran at a decently fast pace. She then jumped and soared over to Aggron, her pincers beginning to glow with power. Right when Aggron balanced himself, Gliscor floored him again, this time with a powerful slam from above, causing a tremor to shake the ground.

"That's an Earthquake, from the looks of it." the flowery Pokemon grunted as he and the Trubbish boy watched the on-going battle, "That's her signature move, and boy, does it look like it gave Aggron quite the bruising." And he was right, as Aggron was coughing and sputtering, trying to lift himself off the ground. He couldn't, though. Anytime he tried to move, his back seared with an unimaginable pain. It felt as if sharp spikes were digging into his spine anytime he tried to steady himself.

"That hurts, doesn't it?" Gliscor jeered as she paced around her crippled opponent, observing the damage done to him. The iron plates on his back were completely wrecked, having been splintered by her Earthquake attack. Sharp fragments of armor were stuck within Aggron's tough skin, and they dug into his spine if he so much as moved a muscle. "Oh, you poor baby. It seems like I've screwed your back up."

"You... you little...!" Aggron grunted as he tried to withstand the horrific pain in his back as he tried desperately to get up and fight back. He was interrupted by Gliscor jumping onto his back, causing him to howl in pain.

"That's exactly what you get when you prey on innocent Pokemon, so don't you DARE go begging for mercy from me, Aggron. I have none to spare for bandits like you." She hissed as she jumped off his back. She then faced the Trubbish boy and her flowery cohort.

"Hey Venusaur! You can come over and tie up that scumbag there! Tyranitar will be happy to have another criminal occupying one of his jail cells!" she shouted as she motioned for the flowery Pokemon known as Venusaur to come closer.

"Alright, little guy. We took care of that bad guy for you." Venusaur chuckled as he lumbered over to his companion and the fallen Aggron.

"Hey, I'm no kid, alright!" the Trubbish boy snapped at Venusaur. "I know I'm kinda small, and relatively tiny, but you have no right to belittle me!" Venusaur simply laughed at the Pokemon kid's remarks.

"Well, when you're my size, it's easy to mistake anyone your size for a kid. I'm just so big!" he chuckled, coming to a stop next to Aggron. "Alright there, big fella. I suppose I ought to get you all tied up now." As Aggron began to protest and swear angrily, Venusaur tied him up good and tight with two vines that sprouted out of his flower. While Aggron roared in pain, Venusaur lifted him onto his back, slightly crushing his flower. Seeing that Aggron was secure, Gliscor walked over to the Trubbish boy who was staring at her in awe.

"Well hello there, little Trubbish! I'm glad that you're safe and sound!" Gliscor chirped, smiling as warmly as a demonic-looking flying scorpion could manage.

"Y-y-yeah, I am!" Trubbish squeaked, still impressed by the feats of this Pokemon. She was just so cool! The way she smoothly took down that Aggron really blew him away. He may have been scared of her at first, but it was clear that this Pokemon was a friendly one.

"Well, I'm sorry that Aggron over there gave you trouble. He's a cruel, violent brute that has been attacking wandering Pokemon and stealing their possessions. We came out here after we were tasked with the job of arresting him and taking him back to the village.

I'm just glad that we happened to show up here when we did, because Aggron would have definitely killed you without our help." While Gliscor was explaining her presence at this dry, barren wasteland, a rather intimidating dragon Pokemon came down from the mountain with a large bag in tow.

"Yo, Gliscor! Venusaur! I got my hands on Aggron's stolen goods!" he announced as he approached the two of them. He was quite an odd looking dragon. He wasn't too big as far as dragons go, and was in fact a bit smaller than Aggron. His body was blue, yet his head was in stark contrast with his body: it was a bright red color! And his wings were very lumpy, and didn't seem like they'd be all that helpful for flying.

Good job, Druddigon!" Gliscor cheered, as the rocky looking Pokemon grinned.

"I've got a nose for that kind of stuff, you know." he chuckled as he looked over at Aggron. "Yep, he's been stealing berries, seeds, orbs, and all sorts of tools essential for survival out here in the wild. What a scumbag." He then looked over to the Trubbish boy, and frowned a bit. "Hey, what the heck is a Trubbish doing out all the way in the Craggy Plains? I always thought they thrived around human waste. Why would he be hanging around here? In fact, this place is about as far away as you can get from garbage."

"Well... sheesh, how did I get here in the first place?" Looking back at how he woke up on the mountain's summit, he had no real clue how he got up there! As hard as he tried, his home, his friends and family, even his own name were complete blanks! All he remembered was that he didn't use to look like this. He used to be a human, not this... thing that they were calling Trubbish.

"Alright, you gotta be joshing me, buddy. You don't just end up in a mountain without knowing how you got there. Were you kidnapped by Aggron? Or maybe..." Druddigon paused, his claws balling into fists, "Maybe you're an accomplice of Aggron's, trying to sell out your partner and escape from us! Well I'll tell you something, buddy: nobody pulls the wool over my eyes!" Druddigon snarled at the cowering Trubbish.

"Yeah, you're right, pal! He's my little partner in crime! Or at least he was, 'till he tried to sell me out!" Aggron snarled from atop Venusaur's' back.

"Oh, shut up you idiot." Gliscor snarled at Aggron, who promptly zipped his lips, "Druddigon, it's quite obvious that Aggron's lying. He was trying to murder the little guy when we found them. In fact, you pointed out that he was being chased by him, remember?" Gliscor grinned sheepishly at his rash behavior.

Oh yeah, I did, didn't I? I'm sorry, little dude." Druddigon apologized to Trubbish as Gliscor simply smiled.

"It's okay, Mister. But honestly, I just can't remember how I got here!"

"Well, how about your home? Surely, you can remember it, right?" Venusaur suggested, trying to be as helpful as he possibly could.

"Nope. I can't remember that, either. I don't even know who I am in the first place!" he explained, feeling a bit embarrassed upon saying this.

"You really don't remember, huh?" Gliscor said, thinking hard about what the Trubbish said to her, "You seem like an amnesiac, then... I think we ought to get you back to town. I think that Hypno would know what do about you. Plus, you need shelter, water, food..." Upon mentioning food, the Trubbish boy's stomach unleashed an angry, gurgly rumble that sounded like a furious Mightyena.

"That would be appreciated, heh heh." Trubbish chuckled, embarrassed by his body's loud noises. Smiling warmly, Gliscor extended a pincer to the boy in a gesture of friendship.

"Alright, you. We're going to take you back to town with us. And hopefully, we'll find out exactly how to help you. But before that, I think we should properly introduce ourselves to you. I'm Gliscor, the big guy carrying Aggron is Venusaur, and the dragon over there is Druddigon. Together, we're Team Earthshaker!" As the three struck cool poses, the Trubbish boy watched in amazement. _Team Earthshaker?! Man, are these guys cool!_ he thought in awe as he beheld them. He was more than happy to go traveling with them.

"And if you didn't guess, we're one of many Rescue Teams that operate in the areas around Pinnacle Village! We accept missions from Pokemon native to the areas around our village, whether it's arresting dangerous criminals, rescuing Pokemon in distress, or simply locating lost objects, we're more than happy to assist anyone in need!" And with a grab of the Trubbish boy's hand, she whipped out a small, golden piece of... something.

"What's that?" The boy asked as he studied the shiny object held by Gliscor.

"This? This is a Rescue Team badge! Not only does it identify us as Rescuers, but it's also used for traveling back to the village. Without this baby, we'd be worn out traveling all throughout the region trying to help out Pokemon in need." Gliscor explained as the badge began to give off light. As the group was engulfed in the light, the Trubbish boy smiled to himself, wondering about the possibilities as to what may happen next.


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to Pinnacle Village!

Chapter 2: Welcome to Pinnacle Village!

"Ah, home sweet home!" Gliscor exclaimed as the quartet appeared in a bustling town square in a burst of light. Thrown off balance by the sudden teleportation, the Trubbish boy fell over on his back, causing Druddigon to chuckle at his misfortune.

"Aw, poor little fella!" Druddigon sneered playfully as Trubbish got back on his feet.

"Oh, shut up." the Trubbish boy grunted as he steadied himself and began to observe his surroundings. Pinnacle Village's Square was quite an exciting sight, if a bit strange. For one thing, the Trubbish boy did not expect to see so many buildings! He couldn't remember much of the past, but if there's one thing that stuck out in his mind, it was that Pokemon were animals. Smart animals, sure, but except for a select few, none could just build structures like the ones he was looking at from skills picked up in the wild! They were nothing overly complicated, just buildings made of stone, and some made from wood, yet it was still a fascinating sight. The Trubbish boy just couldn't stop staring around the bustling streets as various Pokemon passed him by. He saw a rather intimidating Pokemon that resembled a bearded, demonic tree named Shiftry observing a selection of berries laid out for display as a smaller Pokemon that resembled an acorn called Seedot wandered aimlessly near the Shiftry, who was probably the little Pokemon's parent. Over to his right, Trubbish saw two Pokemon that resembled balls that were in charge of a stand that was filled to the brim with metallic disks.

"TM'S! GET YOUR TM'S HERE! FOR A SUM OF MONEY, YOU CAN HARNESS POWER LIKE YOU'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE!" the smaller of the two was calling out.

"Have you ever wanted to know how it feels to fire a beam of ice? Or how about punishing your enemies with your mind? Here at Voltorb and Electrode's TM Heaven, your dreams can come true!" the larger one said as a rather dopey looking pink Pokemon with a sentient shell attached to his tail wandered over.

"Enjoying yourself, aren't you?" Gliscor asked, bringing Trubbish back to earth.

"Uh, yeah! Yes ma'am! This is quite the establishment you've got set up here!" Trubbish stuttered, still trying to take in the bizarre sights of the Pokemon-populated village.

"Get your head out of the clouds, little guy. We're going to take you to see the village Elders. They'll find you a place to stay." Gliscor said as she grabbed Trubbish by his knot-like ears and placed him on her back, giving him time to brace himself.

"We'll take Aggron over to the local jail. See you, Gliscor!" Druddigon said as he disappeared into the crowd.

"I'll meet you back at the base, Gliscor. See you later, little guy." Venusaur smiled as he pat Trubbish on the head with a vine, following Druddigon. As Gliscor headed down the eastern gravel street, Trubbish continued to stare in wonder of this strange new world.

"Still blown away, aren't you?" Gliscor chuckled as she passed by two Pikachu, who smiled enthusiastically and waved at her. "It's fine. New arrivals always react this way. We're the only properly civilized community of Pokemon in this region."

"Really? I didn't even know that a place like this existed!" Trubbish replied quizzically.

"Most Pokemon that live out in the wild such as us make their homes in their natural habitat. Hundreds of years ago, several Pokemon came together and decided to make a safe haven for us. We wouldn't have to deal with violent, predatory Pokemon, or droughts, famines, or storms in the wild. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes come together as one, and we can last through anything, as long as we all pull through together." Gliscor then gave a depressed sigh, all happiness draining away.

"What's wrong, Miss Gliscor?" Trubbish asked, hoping that nothing too serious was wrong with his savior.

"It's just... things have been getting hectic lately. You noticed how the mountain you were on was dull, lifeless, rough and edgy looking?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there's a reason for that. The Craggy Plains has always been a tad harsh, but it didn't use to look quite that bad. But it's been a victim to droughts, recently. Wild Pokemon have been fleeing the region like mad, and it's been a fruitful season for opportunistic thugs like Aggron. And if things couldn't get any worse, the place has been victim to all sorts of violent storms. Tornados and lightning have ravaged the landscape, ruining it beyond belief." She explained as they passed an open sandlot, where crowds of Pokemon flocked to watch two Pokemon that resembled red and blue martial artists respectively spar against each other.

"That's pretty bad. I guess I'm lucky I showed up on one of the mountain's better days." Trubbish chuckled, not eliciting a smile from Gliscor.

"It's just been a stressful time for everyone involved. All sorts of areas around the region have fallen prey to the storms and other bad events. Who knows how long we can stay safe?" The pair stayed silent for a few minutes, until Gliscor came to a stop in front of a rather grand-looking building. It was long, and was a marble color that gave it a stately aura. The entry was surrounded by two statues of a Pokemon that resembled a cobra, with an ornate pattern on it's belly.

"This is the Town Hall. The town's Five Elders live in this building." Drapion explained as Trubbish climbed off her back.

"Are the Elders easy people to get along with?" Trubbish asked, a bit nervous at the prospect of going face to face with the Village's leaders. Spitting into the palm of his ratty, gray hand, he tried to slick back his knot-like ears on his head in an attempt to at least look somewhat presentable. Gliscor giggled as she watched, amused by the little Pokemon's attempt to look good.

"Oh, don't you be afraid, now. The Elders are professional, kind authority figures. They won't bite, I promise." She then reconsidered that statement.

"Actually, I'd be careful around Old Lady Serperior. According to the older members of the community, she's always been a temperamental one even as a Snivy. And believe me, old age has done nothing to turn her into less of a grouch. I'd be sure to mind my manners around that old snake. Believe me, it's NOT fun to be on her bad side." Gliscor shuddered, remembering her past experiences with the old coot. Trubbish gave a nervous gulp as he entered the building with Gliscor following behind him.

Entering the building, the main hall stretched down a long way, with doors that didn't seem to require knobs leading off into different areas. Not sure where to go, Trubbish let Gliscor take the lead as he followed nervously behind her. The pair went down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of a pair of large, mahogany doors where a Pokemon was standing guard. It was quite a curious looking one, it looked like an overgrown ferret, it's long body covered in cream and brown colored fur. Upon seeing Gliscor, the Pokemon's ears perked up and his brown eyes twinkled with delight.

"Well hello there, Miss Gliscor!" The Pokemon squeaked, "How goes the adventuring?" He then frowned a bit as he looked down at Trubbish. "And who's this odd-smelling little fellow?"

"He's a Trubbish, and he needs a place to stay. I came to visit the Elders to see if they'll let him get settled into our humble little village." Gliscor explained, as the ferret Pokemon nodded.

"Alright, then. They're in the meeting room as we speak. Keep in mind that they are holding a meeting right now, so it would be best not to get in the way of their discussion. You can enter the room and wait for them, though. They won't mind." Giving the Pokemon a nod, Gliscor pushed open the doors, where the bellowing voices of the room's inhabitants spilled out into the rest of the building.

"You idiot! It's not that simple!" An elderly Pokemon that resembled a snake bellowed from the end of a long table, her scarlet eyes blazing with flames that could sear the hide of the devil himself. "How on earth are we supposed to hunt them down and punish them for their misdeeds?!" The Pokemon's body tensed up, the dull green and white coloration of her body and her rather scrawny face gave her the look of a hungry carrion bird.

"Well, what else can we do, Serperior?" Her opponent, a hulking brute of a Pokemon roared, his muscles rippling under his brown skin as he shouted, "Those two have crossed the line! We need to take action NOW!" And as to emphasize his point, he grabbed what looked like a slab of concrete lying next to him and pounded it into the floor. The elderly snake Pokemon Serperior shook her head in exasperation, the leaves hanging from her body giving a dry rustling noise.

"Why do you always feel the need to just jump recklessly into things, Conkeldurr? The problem with trying to teach them a lesson through brute force is that most of us CAN'T GET TO THEM!" she hollered, her face slowly progressing to a faint cherry esque color. "Most of the Pokemon that live here that are capable of flight are our mail carriers!" A vein popped in Conkeldurr's head as he slammed another concrete slab into the ground.

"Well, there has to be another way! I'm sure we don't have to simply rely on flying Pokemon to do the job!" Serperior flashed a mocking smile at the raging Conkeldurr at the end of the table.

"Oh, there is? Then why don't you tell us? I'd _love_ to be enlightened, you old fossil! Serperior cackled as Conkeldurr's face turned about eight shades of red. From a small tub of water on Serperior's left, a rather craggy, rocky looking old fish Pokemon stuck his head out.

"Um... Serperior... Conkeldurr... could you both please be civil to each other? Miss Gliscor is over there with a guest, waiting patiently for you two to stop this fighting." he murmured shyly in a rather gravelly voice. Turning her attention away from Conkledurr for the moment, Serperior raised her leafy tail, and slapped the fish hard across the face.

"Keep out of this, Relicanth!" she screeched like a harpy, "You need to stay out of matters that don't concern you! And those two whippersnappers over there need to learn to wait for their elders to finish-"

"SERPERIOR!" A raspy, yet powerful voice roared from the center of the table, catching the attention of everybody in the room. A faded yellow, humanoid Pokemon slowly got to his feet, doing the best he could at standing straight. Grabbing onto a long, wooden stick for support, he glared at Serperior with squinty looking began to run his fingers down his long, bulbous nose and stroked a soft, luxurious mane of white fur around his neck as he began to speak. "Physical violence will not be tolerated among the Council of Elders! You should be ashamed of yourself for attacking Relicanth, who is hundreds of years your senior! Apologize to him at once!" He scolded at the infuriated Serperior. Coiling tightly in her spot, Serperior shot the Pokemon a death glare, before she softened her expression as she turned her neck to face Relicanth.

"I'm sorry, Elder Relicanth. I shouldn't have hit you like that." She said, her cranky tone loosening up. Relicanth gave a chuckle, pleased by this.

"Oh, don't you worry there, Serperior. The old cranium has taken lots of hits over the years, a little old slap from you isn't going to phase me." As the argument died down, a Pokemon resembling a purple bulldog that was sitting between Conkledurr and the yellow Pokemon cleared his throat.

"Excuse me there, but like Relicanth said, Gliscor is here, and it looks like she bought company." he barked, descending into a small coughing fit. Smiling weakly, the yellow Pokemon turned to face Gliscor, who was smiling right back.

"Well, hello there, Gliscor. How goes things for Team Earthshaker?"

"We're doing fine, Elder Hypno." Gliscor replied, bowing out of respect for the elderly Pokemon. "We just got back from an assignment at the Craggy Plains. We found this little guy stuck there." Trubbish went up to the table, feeling a bit nervous as he hobbled up to the table with all five pairs of eyes staring right at him.

"Well hello there, young one." Hypno crooned in a soft, grandfatherly tone, putting Trubbish at ease.

"Hello there, Mister. Um, I mean, Elder Hypno!" he stuttered nervously. _Boy, is this embarrassing! _"I was stuck up on a mountain, and I was nearly killed by an Aggron. I have no idea where I came from, or how I got up the mountain. Can you please provide me a place to stay?" Upon hearing this, the elders began to stare at each other quizzically. _Oh boy. _he thought as Serperior gave him a look that just screamed "I doubt it." _I'm screwed now!_

"What in the world do you mean, you can't remember? You had to have come from somewhere!" Serperior snapped as she slithered over to Trubbish. She began to slink around him, crinkling her nose. "Ugh, you smell awful! What hole did you crawl out of, you filthy little whippersnapper?" She growled as she began glaring at him. He could feel what felt like tiny daggers stabbing him throughout his body, puncturing his soul. Those horrible, vermillion eyes... he couldn't peel his own from hers, no matter how hard he tried.

"You don't look natural at all, boy. You have a very, hmm, artificial look to you. Aren't you what's called a Trubbish?"

"Yes ma'am, that's what I've been called all day." he whimpered, trying his hardest not to sound like he was completely on edge.

"We ought to dump you outside the Village. We don't need man-made pieces of garbage like you cluttering up our living space!" Serperior snarled as Trubbish began to take a few steps back from her.

"Serperior! Just how hypocritical can you get?!" Granbull snarled, getting up to his feet quickly, wincing in pain as his back gave an almighty crack. After giving himself a few seconds to recollect himself, he continued on. "We have Voltorb and Electrode as TM vendors out in the village square! We also have Magneton of Team BoltBeam living here as a brave explorer! Watch what you say, will you?" Serperior hissed as she tried to stare down Granbull, who simply glared back with defiance. Conkeldurr simply gave a hearty chuckle at the two Pokemon going at each other.

"Serperior, his origin is not the matter here." Conkeldurr said as Serperior faced him, "What matters is that the little guy needs a place to stay. I don't remember you reacting quite so hostile towards others who sought this place out for refuge." Smacking herself in the face with her tail, Serperior shook her head in disbelief.

"I didn't mean it in that way, you idiot. What I meant is that we don't need him polluting our village! If you haven't noticed, he's made of garbage!" She snarled, as Trubbish smiled meekly at Hypno. As he shut his eyes, Hypno chuckled lightly.

"Well, I see your concern there, Serperior. But don't be so worried! Watch this, please." Hypno picked up what bore a strong to a newspaper on the table, and balled it up in his fist. He then chucked the ball at Trubbish, whose mouth instinctively opened, and closed over the ball of paper. '_What the- why did I do that?!' _Trubbish began to chew up the paper into moist, wet shreds, then gulped it down greedily. '_What am I, a trashcan? Still... that wasn't half bad. Not half bad at all. Though I suppose it was a bit bland... it could use a bit of seasoning.'_ Hypno then turned to Serperior, who didn't look quite so fierce anymore.

"So, the little one eats garbage, eh? Well, we do need a good way to dispose of trash around town, you know." she cackled as Trubbish could feel himself getting a bit annoyed at her. Why did the other four elders tolerate Serperior's rude behavior? He knew that if he was as well respected as Hypno, he'd throw her out of the meeting room in an instant. "Oh fine, you little stinkbug. I suppose you aren't the worst addition to this village. Just don't get too close to me. Your scent offends me." she grumbled, coiling up back into her spot. Hypno grinned as he turned around back to Trubbish and Gliscor.

"Well, Gliscor. I thank you for taking this one over here. I'll get him situated, don't you worry. Just focus on relaxing for now. I really do appreciate the work you Rescuers do for our community." Hypno said as he sat down again.

"As you ask, Elder. Farewell, Conkeldurr, Serperior, Relicanth, Granbull!" She said, as the other elders waved good-bye. She then turned to Trubbish, and gave him a quick pat on the head with a pincer.

"See you later, little guy." She smiled as she headed out the door. Trubbish couldn't help but be a bit sad that his first friend in this strange new world was already leaving for the day.

"See you, Gliscor! Thanks for saving me!" He called after her as she left the room. Trubbish then faced Hypno again, who was deep in thought.

"So, back to the matter at hand. You said that you don't remember where you came from, correct?" Hypno asked as Trubbish gave a nervous gulp.

"No sir, I don't." Hypno began to stroke his furry mane again, as Relicanth stuck his head out again.

"Well, this is a case of amnesia for sure. It doesn't seem to be a major case, though. He can still function well, and he's able to go around without a lot of babying. This is peculiar indeed... The Craggy Plains has been a site for all sorts of awful storms, lately. Do you think a tornado could have thrown you onto the mountain or something?" the ancient fish chimed in helpfully.

"I doubt it, sir. I woke up on top of the mountain, and I don't think a tornado could have thrown me up all the way up there." Trubbish replied as the fish sunk back into his tub, a bit crestfallen at his failure to shed light on the situation.

"Ugh, at this rate, we'll be here all day trying to figure out his kid's story. How about we skip to the part where we can help, and get him a place to stay?" Conkledurr cut in, which was actually a good point.

"You're right, old friend." Hypno chuckled, "Well, if I remember correctly... Sableye was up for sharing his home, isn't that right, Relicanth?"

"You're right, Hypno. Sableye was looking for someone to bunk with, if I remember correctly" Relicanth confirmed. "The thing is, though, Sableye is an aspiring Rescuer. He said that he'd only be up for bunking with someone on the condition that his potential roommate would form a Rescue Team with him." From beside Relicanth, Serperior gave a rather nasty cackle.

"Oh, please! That little guy, in a Rescue Team? Now that's funny, Relicanth, you old joker." she sneered. Adrenaline surged through Trubbish's tiny little body. He couldn't explain it, but he felt completely fired up. He thought back to his time on the mountain where Aggron was out for his blood, and how smoothly Gliscor handled the situation. The thrill of capturing a bad guy, the relief of finding a Pokemon in trouble... at that moment, that desire for adventure swelled up inside him.

"Hey, lady!" Trubbish hollered, causing Serperior to snap to attention. She glared at him, not used to being snapped at like that. Already, he felt uneasy for acting so boldly, but he knew he couldn't let her insult him like that!

"I-I-I want to be in a Rescue Team!" he squeaked as she continued to glare at him. "That's exactly what I want to do! I want to be like Gliscor, Venusaur, and Druddigon! I want to help Pokemon in need! I want to be a hero! And if I get a free place to stay, that's fine and dandy too!"

"Well, that decides it, I guess." Hypno announced, satisfied with Trubbish's decision. "I'll send a message to Sableye and let him know that he's got a potential partner who can't wait to start his work!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hypno, would you hold on for just a second?!" Serperior snapped, but in a less hostile tone than before, "Are you actually serious in letting him join a Rescue Team?!" Hypno gave her a quizzical look, not quite sure if he understood the question.

"I don't see the problem in it. If that's what he wants out of life, I see no need to interfere." He stated matter-of-factly.

"But Hypno, look at him! He's so small! How could you expect him to defend himself against criminals and hostile wild Pokemon! He would get himself killed! It doesn't take a fool to see that!" Serperior snapped. Granbull gave a slow nod.

"Hypno, I have to agree with Serperior. He's just so small! Sending him out on a rescue mission would be suicide!"

"Look, why can't we just let him decide for himself? It's his life, isn't it fair for him to choose how to spend it?" Relicanth cut in, taking everyone by surprise.

"Relicanth has a point. Trubbish seems old enough to know what he wants out of life. And besides," Hypno added, smiling mysteriously at Trubbish, "The greatest heroes do come in the most bizarre packages." Trubbish was insistent in his decision. The life of a Rescuer was just so exciting! He could hardly wait for a chance to burst into a dark forest and get to clobbering some bad guys!

"Yes! Yes, I want to be in a Rescue Team! And I'm not going back on my word, either!" Trubbish exclaimed, feeling absolutely pumped. Hypno smiled warmly, seeing how enthusiastic Trubbish was to go forward in life.

"As I said before: It's settled. Furret!" Hypno called, and was soon answered by the ferret Pokemon sticking his head in through the door.

"Yes, Elder Hypno! You needed me?" "Ah, indeed I do, Furret." This Trubbish is aspiring to be a Rescue Team member, and Sableye is more than happy to offer up his living quarters for an aspiring partner. You know where his home is, right?" Furret quickly nodded, eyeing Trubbish nervously.

"Good, good! Just drop him off quickly, now!" Accepting his orders, Furret scurried out the door. Facing the elders, Trubbish tried his best to bow, but his body was just not built for that kind of action. Laughing at his struggle, Hypno intervened.

"In your case, a salute would do fine." he chuckled, prompting Trubbish to give the Elders a quick salute.

"Elders, thank you all for helping me out! I swear, on my honor as a Rescuer, I will make all of you proud, even if I die trying!" he shouted as he turned around. "I'll never forget your kindness!" As he headed out the door, he smacked himself in the face._ 'Stupid, stupid, STUPID! That was so over the top! Why did I do that? Ugh, I need to calm down. Calm down, Trubbish.' _Despite his mild embarrassment at his behavior, it did nothing to kill his excitement. He just couldn't wait to find Gliscor and tell her about what he was planning on doing for the rest of his life in Pinnacle Village...


	4. Chapter 3: An Aspiring Hero

Chapter 3: The Aspiring Hero

As Furret led Trubbish to his new home, he noticed that the village was bathed in a dim, orange glow. _'Sunset already, huh? I'm sure glad that I have a place to spend the night.' _Trubbish thought to himself as he struggled to keep up with the quick Pokemon. Twisting his neck around, Furret rolled his eyes at Trubbish's failure to keep up with him.

"Trubbish, will you hurry it up?" Furret snapped, stopping flat in his tracks as Trubbish waddled closer.

"It's not my fault that I'm cursed with these stubby little feet!" he snapped back as he finally caught up to Furret. As the two continued on their way, Trubbish's head was full of questions concerning his housemate. Was Sableye a friendly Pokemon? Seeing as how he was wanting to form a rescue team, that seemed like an obvious question, but doing good work doesn't mean that you're necessarily a good person. Was he going to treat him poorly? Would Sableye be a coward, and hide from danger while Trubbish would be stuck with the hard work?

"Well, we're here!" Furret chirped, interrupting Trubbish's thoughts. Coming to a stop, Trubbish noticed that the amount of houses in this part of the village were more widely spread out. They were mostly old and decrepit, most of them were the same shade of faded gray, and Trubbish was hard pressed to find any that didn't have chunks of wood missing from the walls. The house that they had stopped in front of was particularly eerie looking, resembling a gray, wooden cave more than a house. Seeing the gaping entrance, Trubbish felt like he was about to enter the lair of a particularly vicious beast.

"So... this is where Sableye lives? It's... uh, it's a cool little, cave thingy..." Trubbish trailed off, starting to have second thoughts about living in this place. "But, you know, I'm starting to have second thoughts about living in this place..." Furret nodded in approval, to Trubbish's surprise.

"Yes, yes. I know what you mean, my friend. I too hold this part of town in slight contempt. But I do mean it when I say slightly, the inhabitants molded this part of town to their liking. They honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I do feel a bit sorry for you, as I cannot stand messy, untidy areas such as Sableye's home." And with that, Sableye scurried back to the Elder's living area, leaving Trubbish in the dust.

_'Inhabitants? I wonder what kind of Pokemon live here?' _As Trubbish tried to muster up some courage, he took a few steps forward, and entered the cave-like dwelling. Using the slowly dimming light from outside the house, Trubbish noticed that there wasn't a lot of stuff that inconspicuous about the house. There were a few chairs strewn around, probably used by bipedal Pokemon while mats crafted from dusty straw were strewn about for those with body types like his. Except for the chairs and mats though, the room was mostly barren, stretching deeper into the house. Noticing a knobless door that could simply be pushed open like the doors in the Elder's quarters', Trubbish hobbled down the hallway, feeling slightly tense about what he was doing.

"S-Sableye?" he squeaked, his tone shaky. After giving himself a few seconds, and repeated himself in a voice that was much more firm. "Sableye? You home? I've heard that you need someone to help you start a Rescue Team!" The door was pushed slightly open, giving a slight creak. "So, I take that as a yes?" He chuckled nervously. Stepping into the room, he immediately noticed what appeared to be two large, sparkling eyes staring at him in the darkness. Blinking in surprise, Trubbish noticed them disappearing a second later.

"Sableye? Is that you?" He asked quizzically, fear beginning to creep into his voice. As he began to look around the room, ready to defend himself if needed, he felt his skin crawl as he felt warm breath on his back.

"Behind you." a high-pitched voice giggled as two clawed arms dug into Trubbish's sides. Giving a wail of fear, Trubbish launched himself into the air, and hit the floor again with a small plop. Hearing an impish giggling from behind him, the room was suddenly cast into light as a few candles behind him were lit.

"Aw man, that was an AWESOME scream! I haven't gotten anyone that good since... well, since forever!" Turning around, Trubbish saw a rather small Pokemon that he assumed to be Sableye rolling around on the floor in a fit of maniacal laughter. Small, purple, and gremlin-like, it was hard to really be scared of this little guy (In fact, he was a bit shorter than Trubbish), Trubbish thought as he could feel his heartbeat slightly scale back to it's normal rate. Getting back up on his feet, Trubbish was caught off guard by the Pokemon's eyes. They weren't merely gem-like, now that he got a better look at them: they were gems! Two large, blue gems took the place of where eyes would be on any normal Pokemon. And despite the fact that he had no way to blink, Sableye seemed to be able to see just fine.

"Whoa, get on back to earth, space cadet!" Sableye laughed, sporting a grin filled to the brim with small, yet incredibly sharp fangs. Shaking his head in surprise at being caught off guard, Trubbish felt a bit embarrassed at the prospect of being caught gawking at his new partner's eyes. '_Ugh, how rude!'_

"You were caught by the eyes, weren'tcha? It's okay, dude. My race is the only species of Pokemon that have gems that naturally grow in our bodies! Wanna see the others?" Before Trubbish could give an opinion, Sableye did a quick spin, showing the small amount of gems embedded in the rest of his body. Despite only having a ruby on his torso and a ruby, sapphire, and emerald embedded in his back, it was still fascinating to watch.

"Yeah, seeing as how every Sableye's diet is consisted of gems and the like, they crystallize in our bodies and grow outward. Fascinating, that is... oh, but I'm rambling. What are ya doing here, little buddy?" Trubbish was a bit taken aback by Sableye's enthusiastic attitude. Everything Sableye did just seemed to be at a naturally speedier pace than how life went. In fact, Trubbish was having difficulty processing all this info due to how quickly things were happening.

"Oh, well, I'm new here in town, and I was told by Elder Relicanth and Elder Hypno that you were going to let people bunk with you as long as they were willing to help you out." Hearing Trubbish's explanation, Sableye broke out into a wide grin.

"Well, looks like the old timers finally got someone to take my request!" Sableye chuckled, looking Trubbish over with his diamond eyes, "Though I gotta say, I was expecting someone... a little bigger. Tougher. You know, someone who didn't look like a little sack of garbage." Remembering Elder Serperior's cutting remarks on his image, Trubbish could feel his face heat up in annoyance.

"Oh, so you think just because of how I look, that means I can't fight?! Well guess what, pal?! I've got every bit as much enthusiasm as you do, partner. And I'm more than willing to go all the way to prove that I can do it! I can be every bit as good as a Rescuer as Gliscor! I just know I can!" he shouted, losing himself to the outrage that he couldn't be successful due to his body shape. Sableye could think of nothing to say, simply staring at Trubbish, who was absolutely fuming.

"Whoa, buddy. You certainly have got quite an attitude problem there... I like that flame you've got burning in your soul! Heh, what you lack in intimidation factor, you make up for in spunk! And you know what? I like that, kid!" Sableye cheered, to Trubbish's amazement. "Look, we'll see just how you do tomorrow. Now that I've gotten at least another Pokemon by my side, we can start taking jobs!" As Sableye began to whistle to himself happily as he began to dig around in a nearby dresser, Trubbish felt a bit more relaxed. Watching the little Pokemon dig out paper and a piece of charcoal, he could feel that Sableye could be a great friend after all. Scratching a quick note on the paper, Sableye stood back and admired his handiwork.

"Well, that's that, I suppose. In the morning, I'm sending this over to the Pelipper Post Office, and whaddya know, we'll be officially a Rescue Team!" Laying the paper on the desk, Sableye crawled over to two straw mats on the ground, and plopped down. "Hey rookie, you better get some sleep too. Gotta wake up bright and early for our first mission tomorrow!" he chirped as he pulled a wooly yellow blanket over himself.

"Whoa Sableye, you mean that's it? Just like that, we've formed a Rescue Team?" Trubbish asked, a bit surprised by how easy this was. Surely there was something else he had to do, like a pass a test or something! Sableye stared at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"That's exactly it, buddy. I don't know what you were expecting. Now us Team Leaders, we need to take an exam in order to prove that we're up for the job. But after that, we can recruit others at our leisure." Nodding at the answer he received, Trubbish eyed a few scraps of paper with hungry eyes, as he only had the ball of paper Elder Hypno tossed at him for food that day. After noticing that they were worthless due to most of the words being scratched off, he quickly consumed them, not patient enough to receive an okay from his new partner.

"Did you... did you just eat that paper?" Sableye asked, perplexed by his new friend's odd behavior. Blushing a bit, Trubbish meekly nodded. "Well, I'm not too surprised. I mean, look at you," Sableye said, reassuring Trubbish, "Well, I'm glad that you're a low maintenance kinda guy. The only food I've got is assorted rocks and gems, and those are for me. I did have a bushel of Pecha Berries, but they've gone bad by now. You can take 'em with you tomorrow as snacks. So yeah, could you go snuff out the lights real quick?" Approaching the two candles that were burning brightly, Trubbish licked his hand, and pinched the nubs of the candles, extinguishing both the flames and the light, leaving the room pitch black. "You're a peach, little guy... who are you, anyway? I never quite caught your name."

"I'm Trubbish. Nice to meet you, Sableye!" Trubbish introduced as he held out a gray, damp hand for Sableye, who shook as a mildly disgusted frown appeared on his face. "Noticing, Trubbish immediately pulled back.

"Heh heh, sorry about that."

"No problem, pal," Sableye chuckled, "I understand, you're made of garbage and all that. Look, let's just get some sleep now, okay? We got a big day ahead of us!" Complying, Trubbish plopped down on his bed of straw, but he wasn't tired in the slightest. He was quite enthusiastic, his heart racing as he imagined the adventures he and his new friend would go on! As the night went on, he finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming of beating criminals senseless, and rescuing cowering Pokemon who would shower him and his new friend Sableye with endless praise...


	5. Chapter 4: A Brand New Day Job

Chapter 4: A Brand New Day Job

"WAKE UP!" The booming voice of Sableye gave Trubbish quite the rude awakening. Giving a fearful scream, Trubbish gave a sudden jump and slapped Sableye across the face with a slightly wet *SMACK!*

"Oh man, Sableye! What in the world is your problem?!" Trubbish howled as the adrenaline surging through his body began to slow down a bit. Rubbing his clawed hands on his stinging face, Sableye gave a pained smile.

"Aw, come on! I didn't want you sleeping in on our first day as an official Rescue Team!" Sableye laughed as Trubbish got to his feet. "You remember those rotten Pecha Berries that I told you about? Well, you can grab a few of them for your breakfast. Make it snappy though, I'd like to get to the Pelipper Post Office at a decent time, you hear?" As Sableye began to munch on a lumpy rock, Trubbish hobbled over to what he assumed to be Sableye's pantry door. Pushing it open, he was hit hard with the empowering stench of rotting berries.

"Ugh, dude! I forgot how bad those smelled! I'm gonna get out of here fast before I barf!" Sableye choked as he headed out the door, half-eaten rock and application form in hand. While he could agree with Sableye on how awful the smell was, Trubbish just couldn't see how it made him gag. Sure, the odor of the rotten Pecha Berries was not unlike a corpse exposed to too much sunlight, but it had a hint of peachy goodness. Under the rotting exterior, Trubbish just couldn't help but crave the tidbit of delicious fruit still trapped inside. Walking into the pantry, Trubbish noticed a wooden crate standing out amidst piles upon piles of various rocks and gems. Sniffing the morbidly enticing aroma, Trubbish approached the crate, and looked down at the berries. At this point, the berries were too disgusting and moldy to recognize. What were once delicious berries were now greying, moldy, discoloured blobs that still had a hint of pink and a vaguely sweet aroma in order to show that they were once fantastic treats worth snacking on. Scooping up a few of the mushy berries, Trubbish cringed as he heard the wet squelching sound they made as he clasped them in his weird hand. Fighting back the urge to vomit, he stared at the moldy berry paste dead on.

_'Be strong, little Trubbish,' _Trubbish thought intensely as he squeezed his eyes shut, his stomach rumbling with impatience despite the horrific rotting berries in his palm,_ 'I've got to get used to this.' _Cramming the mashed paste into his mouth, Trubbish immediately began to gag as he tried to expel the rotting Pecha sludge from his mouth. But despite the taste of bile, it joined with his body with relative ease. Having landed with a thud in his stomach, Trubbish gave a hacking cough as the vile flavor coated his mouth, almost like it wanted to insult him before disappearing into the depths of his body. Yet, like the scent, he could feel a bit of pleasure being derived from eating the horrid berries. Lost in the sea of vomit-inducing flavor, Trubbish's senses focused on that last piece of sweetness trapped within the berries, and he couldn't help but wonder in the back of his mind if the sweet taste was actually worth it. _'Whoa, whoa, what am I THINKING?! That was disgusting! I'll see if Sableye could hook me up with some fresh ones later. Ugh...' _Heading out the door, Trubbish was happy to be greeted with the morning light.

Cast in the glow of the sun's rays, the village seemed to be waking up alongside the little Pokemon. Looking around, he could see Sableye communicating with one of his fellow ghostly Pokemon. She was quite pretty: resembling a feminine head wearing a necklace of large red jewels, and judging by the faint flush in Sableye's cheeks and the nervous rocking he was doing in place, Trubbish had a feeling that he was totally smitten by her. Turning around, Sableye threw his arms open widely.

"Hey, man! You finally made it outside! Misdreavus, I'd like you to meet my new buddy: Trubbish! Trubbish, this is my next door neighbor, Misdreavus!"

"It's nice to meet you Misdreavus!" Trubbish chirped as he extended a hand in a gesture of friendship. Looking at it, Misdreavus simply giggled in amusement. "Hey, what's so funny?!" Trubbish snapped, feeling defensive. Was she mocking him for his appearance? His scent? _'Gee, that's original.'_

"Well, look at me!" Misdreavus laughed, twirling around in place. "No arms, you silly kid!" Looking at her ghostly body, Trubbish felt a bit embarrassed at the fact that he forgot that she was more or less a floating head. A pretty one for sure, but a floating head nonetheless. "But it's nice to meet you anyway! Aww, Sableye, he's got to be the cutest little guy I've ever seen! A bit stinky, mind you," she added, scrunching her face up a bit, "But he's still adorable." Giving a hearty laugh, Sableye clasped a clawed hand on Trubbish's shoulder.

"Well, this adorable little guy is going to be my Rescue Team buddy!" Sableye chuckled at the expense of his crestfallen partner.

"Hey, I'm bigger than you, Sableye," Trubbish snorted, "So don't treat me like your little brother."

"But dude, I'm your senior, you know. So you'd technically be like a younger brother figure to me." Sableye retorted as Trubbish rolled his eyes. "Well, we've gotta get going Misdreavus, we're gonna become an official, recognized Rescue Team today! Later!"

"See you, Sableye!" Misdreavus called as Sableye pulled Trubbish by the hand out of the neighborhood.

"He he he... oh man, I think you'll like Misdreavus. She's our next door neighbor, if you couldn't tell. She's the prettiest Pokemon around, that's for sure!" Sableye dreamily sighed, his cheeks radiantly glowing.

"I can tell. You really like her, don't you?: Trubbish asked as a sly grin formed on his face.

"Yeah, ye- whoa, man. I know where you're going with this. My relationship with Misdreavus is business, and business only, thank you very much!"

"Well, your glowing cheeks could have fooled me."

"You know what? Screw you, man. Screw you." The two then began to laugh in synchronization, finding the situation amusing. Continuing their trip to the post office, Trubbish's eyes widened with joy when he saw three familiar figures heading their way.

"Oh man, it's Gliscor! Sableye, you've got to meet Gliscor! She saved my life yesterday!" Despite Sableye's protests, Trubbish wobbled on over to the flying scorpion Pokemon, who gave a wide, fanged grin of happiness when she saw him.

"Trubbish! How did yesterday go for you, little fella?" Gliscor crooned happily as Venusaur reached around to give Trubbish a quick pat on the head.

"Yeah, little buddy! How goes it?" he asked as Sableye walked over to the group, his eyes glinting with excitement, "Oh, dude! You never told me that you knew Team Earthshaker!" Sableye squealed with joy as he pushed Trubbish out of the way. "Oh man, Team Earthshaker! It's an honor to meet you guys!" Sableye said as he grabbed Gliscor's claw and shook it rapidly. "Dude, Trubbish! Seriously, how did you meet them?!"

"Well, we met your little pal just when he happened to be in the midst of a pounding done by that criminal Aggron we bagged yesterday." Druddigon answered snidely as Trubbish shuddered in revulsion, remembering the irate, titanic creature that nearly stomped him flat.

"I'm just glad we showed up in time." Gliscor said, "If we were too late... I don't even want to think about it." As Sableye moved on to shake hands with Druddigon and Venusaur (or in his case, shake a vine), Gliscor approached Trubbish, who smiled up at his savior.

"Hey Gliscor, I'm in a rescue team with Sableye now! You know, that weird looking little guy over there?" Trubbish exclaimed happily as Sableye returned to his side.

"Hey buddy, we've got to give the lovely ladies at the Pelipper Post Office our application, THEN we'll be a rescue team. Capiche?" Rolling his eyes, Trubbish corrected himself.

"We'll BE a rescue team is what I meant." he groaned in mild exasperation as he gave Sableye an annoyed glance. Chuckling, Gliscor gave nodded at Trubbish approvingly.

"Well, it looks like you've found yourself in good company. We're actually headed out to the Post Office right now! We'd be more than happy to join you two!"

"Wait, you guys are heading to the post office? You guys are Gold Rank rescue heroes!" Sableye gasped in disbelief, "Your mailbox oughta be flooded with letters requesting your assistance!" Venusaur gave a hearty chuckle.

"Well, either way, we'll be helping someone out. What kind of hero takes an off day, anyway? Now, you guys want to sit on my flower? We'll get there in no time at all. No offense, little guy," Venusaur said as he observed Trubbish's feet, "But those stubby little legs won't get you there fast enough." Twisting his vines around the waists of the aspiring heroes, Venusaur plopped them onto his flower, the scent seemed to captivate Sableye if his dreamy expression was anything to consider.

"Mmm... that's heavenly stuff right there..." Sableye murmured as the trio broke out in a brisk pace through Pinnacle Square. As they traveled, Trubbish noticed many passerby wave hello to the rescue team (the ones without hands settled for a simple "Hello!" or "Good day!". _'Seeing as how me and Sableye are starting our new jobs today, I wonder when we'll get that kind of hero treatment?' _Letting his imagination run wild, Trubbish could feel the adrenaline flow through his tiny body as he was back on the mountain he woke up on, face-to-face with Aggron again. Instead of shrinking back at the size of the ironclad brute, Trubbish bored fiercely into Aggron's eyes, intimidating the hulking beast a bit. As Aggron backed up, Trubbish gave an unholy war cry as he leaped at the menace, balling his floppy, smelly hand into a fist... he was then being carried through Pinnacle Village on Venusaur's back, the crowd cheering and screaming his name. As he approached the Elder's home and office, all five of them were standing outside, bowing in respect, even the crotchety old Serperior. Dismounting from Venusaur's back, Hypno held a gleaming, shiny medal that he draped around Trubbish's body. As the scenery began to overtake the young hero, Trubbish was bought back down to earth by a quick slap to the face.

"OUCH! Who hit me?" Trubbish yelped in pain, his face stinging like mad.

"That was me, kiddo. I'm sorry, but you didn't seem to realize that we've reached the Post Office!" Venusaur apologised as Sableye and Druddigon shook their heads in annoyance, while Gliscor shook her head and chuckled quietly to herself. Leaping off of Venusaur's' back, Trubbish stared at the large building in front of them. Many bulky looking flying Pokemon with incredibly large bills were flying in and out through the roof of the building, which was more or less a large-scale model of these Pokemon.

"So this is the Pelipper Post Office..." Trubbish thought out loud as Druddigon shambled over to a large billboard that was next to the building. A rather large crowd of Pokemon had gathered around the board, each one removing a slip of paper and walking off with one or two other Pokemon in tow.

"That's the bulletin board," Gliscor explained, pointing towards the board, "While you can receive letters in your mailbox from Pokemon seeking your services, anyone can find a job posted on the bulletin board. The person in need of assistance doesn't care who answers it, they just want their requests to be fulfilled. And trust me," Gliscor murmured, looking at the horizon, which the sky far away seemed to be blackening, "With all these recent storms, there is no shortage of assistance needed outside our cozy little village... Well, I'll see you two later!" Watching Gliscor disappear into the crowd of Pokemon huddled around the bulletin board, Trubbish and Sableye disappeared into the post office.

Looking around the spacious office, Sableye saw a Pelipper perched at a counter, dutifully waiting to provide any locals with assistance.

'Hey, lady!" Sableye called, rushing to the desk with his application in hand, "I've got my rescue team application right here! You see, me and him, we're gonna form a team today!" Using a rather large wing to unfurl the slip of paper, Pelipper glanced at the paper and at the two repeatedly. After a while, she simply gazed at the writing, nodding and giving what Trubbish assumed to be approving grunts every once in awhile. After a few nerve-wracking minutes, she glanced at the two Pokemon, a small smile forming in the corner of her bill.

"I can see just how enthusiastic you are, Sableye." the Pelipper chuckled as she glanced at Sableye, "As much as I'd love for you to start helping the community out, there's just one problem: you two are lacking a team name." Trubbish gave Sableye an annoyed glance as the gremlin-like Pokemon gave a sheepish grin.

"Oh, yeah... ha ha ha. Well, Trubbish, I was supposed to decide a name this morning, but I kinda, sorta forgot." _'Really, Sableye? Really?' _Trubbish thought indignantly as he smacked himself in the face.

"Out of all the things you forgot, you HAD to forget giving our team a name?" Trubbish sighed as he removed his hand from his face due to its' rather questionable scent.

"I know it's a bit of a hassle, but Guildmaster Wigglytuff needs a formal record of all rescue teams so she can keep tabs on your duties as a team." As Sableye tried to lose himself in his thoughts, Trubbish's curiosity peaked.

"Hey Sableye, who's Wigglytuff? What's a Guildmaster?"

"Hey kid," Sableye retorted impatiently, "We don't have time for that kinda stuff. First, can you help me figure up a team name? I'm trying my best to come up with something over here."

"Well, we can go with something based our appearance, can we?" Trubbish suggested, as this seemed the easiest, not to mention the fastest way to come up with a name. Giving a shrug, Sableye seemed to agree. "Well, we both have sharp teeth..."

"Oh, yeah. Sure, let's totally go for something super obvious! Watch out guys, Team SharpTeeth is coming for us! Come on, dude. Try harder." Sableye snapped. "You don't have to be rude about it, you know!" Trubbish shot back, his face flushing with anger, "Let's see you do any better!" Cooling off a bit, Sableye began to think again.

"How's about... Team Diamond Dust! I've got diamond eyes, your arms are, well, sorta dusty!" Sableye retorted, seeming pretty confident with his choice.

"Look, that's a cool name and all, but when I think diamond dust, I think of snow and whatnot."

"Ugh, we'll be here all day if we keep this up! Come on, Trubbish. To make this quick, we'll stick with the next idea you have. But DON'T screw up and make it a dumb name, okay man?" And with Sableye's harsh words, the gears in Trubbish's mind began to turn. _'Alright, so for a team name... maybe I can color my body color with Sableye's? Nah. What do Purple and Green make? I have no clue, but the coloration would probably look like crap, especially due to my dark green skin. And I don't think a team named Team Crap will get that far in life. In fact, it would look putrid and dis- WAIT! Wait one second! I've got it...'_

"Hey, how's about team Putrid?" Trubbish suggested.

"What the... Team Putrid?" Sableye asked incredulously. "Really...actually, hold on." Sableye paused to think, his fangs gritted in determination. While was frowning quite hard at first, Trubbish could see his mouth quiver with a hint of excitement. His eyes seemed to twinkle like the gems they were. And surely enough, Sableye broke out in a toothy grin to Trubbish's relief.

"That's actually not a bad name, man! Think about it, putrid is a word used mostly to describe something that is disgusting, or at least undesirable. And since you're a stinky little trash bag, and I'm a... thingy that lurks in caves and am quite creepy looking. Putrid is perfect for us! It's so fitting! Aw man, you hit the jackpot!" Sableye cheered with glee. As he did a little happy dance, the Pelipper at the desk gave a small cough of mild annoyance.

"So... I'll take that as a "Our team name is Team Putrid, then?" she snarked as the two newly formed teammates snapped back to attention.

"Uh, yes ma'am!" Trubbish stated, "Our name is Team Putrid! And we..."

"We are going to be one heck of a rescue team! Just you wait, lady!" Sableye cut in as the two stroke heroic poses.

"I get it, I get it." the Pelipper huffed as she scribbled down the team name on the application. "Alright," she announced, putting it away, "Looks like you two are now officially a rescue team. Since you two are new on the job, don't expect any letters in the mail regarding your help, so you'll have to go answer someone's request at the Bulletin Board. Once you complete a quest, I'll let Wigglytuff know that she's got some brave young souls worth keeping an eye on."

"Dude, I can't believe it! I actually formed a rescue team! And it's, it's official and everything! Aw yeah!" Sableye cheered as Trubbish headed out the door. "Hey, dude."

"Yeah, Sableye?" Trubbish asked as he stopped in his tracks.

"Look, I'm real glad that we got to do this together, kiddo. Now, we gotta work as a team to get stuff done, okay! Which means less bickering, more helping. Got it?"

"Of course, Sableye! And you're welcome! I'm glad to be a part of Team Putrid!" The two then bumped fists, signifying the pact that was established between the both of them. No longer were they just two random Pokemon off the street. Oh no, they were now a bona fide rescue team!

"Ready to lend a helping hand, and at any day, any hour!" Sableye recited,

"Ready to save the day, no matter what the cost!" Trubbish improvised, hoping that he'd sound cool,

"Look out world, 'cause here comes Team Putrid!" Sableye whooped as he gave Trubbish a hearty slap on the back. "Nice improv there, buddy!"

"Oh, uh, thanks! I did my best!" Trubbish chuckled, not suspecting to do so well. And with that, the newly formed Team Putrid left the Post Office. Today was the day that the adventure would begin for the both of them...


	6. Chapter 5: Complications

Chapter 5: Complications

"Hey dude, I got our supplies in gear!" Sableye announced as he walked towards the Post Office, with a rather large horse following him. Trubbish stared in awe, as the horse's mane, tail, and legs blazed in a beautiful trail of flames, which surprisingly didn't do any damage whatsoever to the bags fastened at the sides. "Hey man, you can stop gawking. Which job did you select for us?"

"Oh yeah," Trubbish replied, snapping to attention as he handed Sableye the slip of paper he pulled free from the bulletin board. "This job seems simple enough." Eyeing the paper, Sableye gave a cocky smirk, his gemstone eyes giving off a manic glint.

"You know, I like your style kiddo!" Sableye chuckled as he gave Trubbish a hearty slap on the shoulder, "It's just a missing Pokemon case. Nothing too big, but the payoff seems worth it! And the destination happens to be nearby! That is what I'd call a good first job! Hey, Rapidash!" the fiery horse looked down at Sableye, awaiting orders. "We don't have to go too far, man! We're heading out to the Generator Forest!" Giving a nod, he crouched, allowing Sableye to mount him. Looking at the flames burning on Rapidash's body, Trubbish hesitated as he did not want to accidentally fry himself on his first day on a Rescue Team.

"Hey, if you're afraid of being burned, don't be." Rapidash reassured in a gravelly tone, "I can control the heat of my flames. You and Sableye won't be burnt, I promise." Feeling somewhat more sure of himself, Trubbish waddled over to the crouching Rapidash, gulped, and jumped onto his back, clasping his arms around Sableye's body. After sitting completely still for a few seconds, Trubbish realized that he wasn't being toasted on the spot, and opened his eyes as Rapidash steadied himself.

"Alright, I've packed all the necessities we need. I got us orbs, which are these neat little objects that function differently in order to get us out of tight spots, seeds, which pretty much act like orbs except that we eat them, and most importantly, we've got supplies for camping, because you never know, we may just spend the night!" Sableye announced as Rapidash began to move at a steady trot, his hooves creating a pleasant clopping noise as they hit the cobblestone road. Remembering breakfast, Trubbish realized that he forgot something really important.

"Oh shoot, Sableye! You didn't happen to grab any berries on the way here, did you?"

"Um, dude? What happened to those rotten berries that I offered you? I told you to take some with you." Sableye said, sounding a tad annoyed.

"I didn't like them. In fact, they taste disgusting." Trubbish stated matter-of-factly, shuddering slightly as he remembered their rancid taste in his mouth.

"What the- why don't you like them? You're a Trubbish, for the love of..." Sableye began to mutter angrily at himself as Trubbish leapt to defend himself.

"Look, they tasted nasty! I'd prefer some fresh berries! I'm not used to the taste of rotting garbage!

"Not used to the taste of rotten garbage? What do you mean by that?!" Sableye snapped as Rapidash left the village, nodding to two rather beefy looking Pokemon clad in what appeared to be belts and black speedos.

"Look, I, uh, I just never ate a lot of straight up garbage. I know it's what's best for my body, but I can't stand it. I mean, seeing as how bland paper tastes, I don't mind eating that. I just can't handle rotten food." After taking a few minutes to cool down, Sableye softened his expression a bit.

"It's okay, man. I got some apples in the sack, anyway. If anything, I'm more annoyed at how bad the stink will be at the end of the day." Sableye chuckled as the two of them shared a nice laugh for a few seconds. As the laughter died down, Sableye reclined a bit, sinking a bit into Trubbish's body. "Hey Trubbish, just look out there. Ain't it quite a sight?" Sableye chuckled as Trubbish pushed him a bit further away off of him. Looking at the horizon, Trubbish smiled slightly as he looked at the rolling hills surrounding Pinnacle Village. "I welcome you to Pinnacle Field!"

It should go without saying that Trubbish was captivated by the plains that unfurled like a large, colorful carpet before his eyes. Everywhere the eye could see, green grass dominated the hilly landscape, with plenty of trees standing by, their imposing size giving them a somewhat protective feel. It was probably spring, as plenty of flowers bloomed throughout the fields, each of them being visited by what appeared to be small, hexagonal Pokemon that had not one, but three heads. As the Pokemon collected what was probably nectar, they flew off into the distance where a rather imposing mountain range could be seen.

"You're impressed, aren't you?" Sableye sighed, gazing dreamily into the distance along with Trubbish, "While I'm more of a cave guy myself, I have to admit, the landscape isn't, it isn't bad, I'll tell you that. Hey, Rapidash!" Sableye called as he pointed towards a cluster of trees off into the distance. "Head on over there, alright?" Giving a nod, Rapidash broke out in a speedy gallop, whinnying in triumph as he soared across the plains. Feeling nauseous due to the sudden change of pace, Trubbish clung to Sableye tightly, in a way that a baby primate would do with its mother as she swung across several tree branches. _'Aw man, I don't want to fall! I don't want to fall! Don't throw up, it's not too far away. Oh man, oh man!'_

"Hey look, this won't be a hard mission, okay?" Sableye stated calmly, feeling the tight strain his terrified partner's arms around his stomach with such force that it felt like a rather heavy Pokemon was sitting on him. "What we gotta do is rendezvous with our clients Nidoking and Nidoqueen and get the details on our mission, which is to find their missing kid. And seeing as how the Generator Woods aren't too big, it shouldn't be too hard of a job to do, got it? All we have to do is run in, grab the kid, and return him to his parents!" Feeling reassured by his words, Trubbish stared at the slowly approaching forest, an odd feeling rising in the pit of his stomach as he thought about how his first rescue mission would go.

'_Boy, do I HATE Joltiks'_, Gurdurr thought to himself as he swatted a group of tiny yellow bugs away with a large metal beam, a wide grin spreading across his rather homely face as he heard their high-pitched shrieks of pain as they went sailing into the distance. _'You can't walk a good five feet without being jumped by a swarm of those guys trying to shock you into submission. Yeesh.'_ Pausing for a rest, the rather top-heavy Pokemon scratched the strange, poofy growth on his head, trying his hardest to relieve the sensation caused by the little buggers skittering all over his cranium.

"Gurdurr, did I tell you to stop moving, you miserable meathead?" An unbearably high, screechy voice yowled from behind.

"No you didn't, boss. I'm sorry." Gurdurr huffed as he continued his trek through the woods. All around him were towering trees as far as the eye could see, with yellow, sparking, yellow cobwebs stretched up as far as the eye could see. Bug Pokemon always gave him the creeps, and bugs that were able to paralyze you and feed on your immobile body were no exception.

"You better be sorry," the voice snickered, "Because I'd quickly claw off that unsightly red growth on your face that you call a nose, you imbecile!" Hearing his boss's cruel remarks caused Gurdurr to cover his nose with his free hand immediately. He always felt a bit self-conscious about his large red, rubbery nose, and his jerk of a boss jumped at any chance he could make to mock it. "Alright, let's stop, okay? I'm getting kind of tired." the Pokemon yawned as he plopped onto the leafy forest floor. Gurdurr stared upon his boss, a rather nasty little Pokemon by the name of Meowth, who gave long yawn as he stretched out in a comfortable position. The small, cat-like Pokemon was a bit smaller than the powerful Gurdurr, probably coming up to about near his waist. If he really wanted to, he could just swing his beam in an almighty arc, and squash the unpleasant guy right where he was laying. And given his personality, very few would miss him.

_'Still, I could never do it.' _Gurdurr sighed as he plopped down next to his boss, as well as another Pokemon who also served Meowth. _'I promised Sneasel that I'd keep a cool head. Meowth did give me a purpose after all. And really, I'm not a killer. No matter how much Meowth may wish me to be.'_ As Gurdurr stretched out on the ground, the other Pokemon in the group, a Pokemon by the name of Sneasel walked over to one of the trees, and began to hack away at the cobwebs with his large claws. Gurdurr couldn't help but watch in amazement as he watched his partner-in-crime go to town on the webs, his sleek black fur glistening due to the light of the sparking cobwebs. _'Man, if there's one thing my buddy Sneasel can do right, it's putting those awesome claws to good use. No matter how hard I swing my weapon, my beam just isn't made for knocking stuff that sturdy down with brute force alone'_ Despite his affinity for brute strength though, Sneasel was always quite friendly to Gurdurr, unlike his boss Meowth, and never judged him despite his more elegant appearance and style of fighting. Making short work of other cobwebs in the vicinity, Sneasel gave his claws a satisfied scraping as he returned to the spot the rest of the group was resting.

"All cobwebs cleared out, boss." Sneasel grinned, a manic gleam shining in his eye as he sat down next to Gurdurr, "The local Galvantula aren't going to be harassing us anymore."

"Good." Meowth purred, "Last thing we need is one of those creeps trying to devour us while we hunt for the goods."

"Speaking of the goods, boss," Sneasel cut in, "Are you even sure that we'll find those stones we're looking for?" Giving a cackle in disbelief, Meowth smirked at the doubtful Pokemon, his slit eyes narrowing in a sense of smug superiority.

"Well, of course, Sneasel! You wouldn't be doubting _my _genius intellect, would you? I mean, you're nowhere near my level of brainpower, that's for sure. But still, you're a smart Pokemon. At least, you're a good deal smarter than that dumb pile of veins and muscle over there!" Meowth cackled as Gurdurr gripped tightly onto his beam, his beefy hand losing all feeling as Meowth continued to snort with mirth and sadistic glee. After calming down, Meowth's tone changed to a serious one. "Yeah, look. This place is one of those areas where electricity can just be felt in the air, you know what I mean? My whiskers have been on edge ever since we entered. I mean, we've got Galvantulas making nests like crazy, and Pachirisu and Emolga skittering around in the trees... where there are many Pokemon, there's usually some kind of fortune to be found! And here," Meowth chuckled as he rubbed two paws together deviously, "Is where I've deduced for lots of Thunderstones to be found! Given how they're pretty much necessary for some Pokemon to properly grow up... heh heh, I'll make a fortune off 'em in the black market! Now, I'll give you two a few minutes to rest, and then, we-"

"Shh..." Sneasel whispered, motioning with his claws for Meowth to stay quiet. Furious that he was interrupted, Meowth's face turned a nasty color that reminded Gurdurr of a Tomato Berry, but he stopped when he heard a rustling sound in some nearby bushes. Motioning for Gurdurr to grab his beam, Meowth got into a pouncing position as the sound grew louder and louder. Right when a small figure emerged from the bushes, Meowth gave a furious yowl as he pounced upon the Pokemon, who cried out in far as Meowth pinned him down on his back.

"Let me go! Let me go, you big meanies! I'll tell my parents! They'll beat you up real good!" the young Pokemon hollered, causing Meowth to hold a clawed paw to his face.

"You think they'll be able to save you if I scratch your face up?!" Meowth hissed, his voice laced with menace. The Pokemon looked as he wanted to fight back, but he stayed still, tears streaming down his face as he began to shiver in fear of these thuggish Pokemon. Looking down at the small Pokemon, Meowth noticed just how tiny he was. His body was completely round and blue, and behind him trailed a spherical tail that was about as big as he was. This Pokemon was probably an Azurill, which stumped Meowth.

"Hey you, don't you live near water? Why are you here in this forest, anyway?" Meowth snarled as the frightened Azurill tried to summon up the courage to speak.

"M-m-my mom and dad are traders. They always take me to go to Pinnacle Village with them when they have new supplies to trade away. They have stuff for explorers, stuff for rescuers, rare berries, sometimes these really shiny rocks that we end up finding-" the Azurill's explanation was cut short by Meowth shaking him in excitement, his eyes aglow with a furious light.

_'Oh boy,' _Gurdurr thought as he rolled his eyes in annoyance, with Sneasel taking the cue. If there was one thing their boss loved more than anything, it was shiny stones. He could have released the Azurill beforehand as a way to keep a low profile, but there was no way the young Pokemon would leave without a bunch of shiny objects coming into Meowth's possession

"Shiny stones?! You said that they have rare stones?! Why didn't you say that in the first place!" Meowth cackled, imagining the wealth of the precious stones that Azurill's parents carried. "Oh, you, my boy, have made my day!"

"So... so are you going to let me go, scary guy?" Azurill said, feeling a bit more courageous at Meowth's sudden change in attitude.

"What?!" Meowth snorted as he broke out in a rather nasty fit of laughter, causing Azurill's smile to be quickly replaced with a frown. "You really think I'm just going to let you go? You, my young friend, are quite the comedian!" Meowth continued to cackle as he fell over on his back. There was nothing funny at all about Meowth's laughter, Azurill thought as he held back tears. That kind of laughter brought him back to the days where bigger water Pokemon at the river he lived near by would call him names and mock him for wanting to swim with them. As his face grew moist from his hot tears of shame, Meowth stood back up, still giggling from Azurill's statement.

"You know what? Maybe, just maybe I would have let you go. I really might have. But you know what?" Meowth sneered as Azurill tried to look away from his wide, slit-pupiled eyes, "The second you mentioned those stones, I changed my mind! Come with me!" Giving a shriek of fear, Azurill tried his best to make an escape, but thanks to Sneasel's quick reflexes, Azurill found himself being held captive, his oversized tail being the instrument to his demise.

"Did I give you permission to run, you little runt?!" Meowth snarled as Azurill cowered before him, "That was not a question. Trust me, you're going to be real valuable to us very soon." And with that, Meowth motioned for Gurdurr and Sneasel to follow behind him, forcing Gurdurr to carry Azurill in one hand while he dragged his beam underneath his other arm.

"So it's a kidnapping, then? Nice." Sneasel purred to Meowth's approving nod, "I haven't done one in a while."

"And it's a literal one too! Well, almost," Gurdurr awkwardly chuckled to Meowth's disdain, "If he was napping in my arm right now, it'd be perfect! We'd literally have a kidnapping!" While Sneasel fought back the urge to chuckle, Meowth rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"What, do you expect me to give you some kind of medal for that, meathead?" Meowth snarled as they continued on their way. "Any idiot can make puns, you know."

"Sorry, boss. I was just trying to have some fun is all." Gurdurr replied gloomily as he continued forward with Azurill in tow. Not wanting to see his friend's spirits down like that, Sneasel quickly cleared his throat.

"You sound kind of edgy, boss. Would you like to relax a bit longer? Goodness knows you need a catnap." he smirked. Gurdurr threw his head back, his almighty guffaws echoing through the forest.

"Hey! I don't want any out of your mouth either, Sneasel." Meowth snarled as he began to angrily mutter to himself. '_Stupid idiots and their stupid puns. Out of all the nimrods out there in this wide, wide world, it figures I get stuck with dumb and dumber back there,'_

"Hey boss, about this kidnapping?" Gurdurr called, sniggering hard as he thought up a real doozy of a pun. "Once we get what we need, I think that you'll be famous. The cat'll be out of the bag when you're found out as a criminal!" Clasping his paw over his face, Meowth snarled in frustration as both of his henchmen broke out in furious laughter.

"You know what, you two? I realized today that I'm surrounded. You know what I'm surrounded by? MORONS! Morons, the both of you! Now shut up, and keep moving!" Meowth snarled as he quickened his pace. Luckily for Meowth, he couldn't see Gurdurr flashing a kind grin to the little Azurill hostage._ 'I know you didn't ask for this, little guy,' _Gurdurr thought, hoping that he'd get the message across to Azurill, _'Neither did I. Meowth's personality stinks, but we both need to just smile and go forth in our lives. The both of us will be okay someday..._

"Alrighty, here we are!" Sableye announced triumphantly as Rapidash slowed his pace to the forest, which was so close that Trubbish could feel electricity faintly rippling through the air. Pulling up to the entrance of the forest, Trubbish noticed two large, heavy-set Pokemon standing by, both of them with looks of concern on their faces. Guessing that the purple one with the more bestial features and the long horn was Nidoking and that the short-horned one with the blue skin and more feminine features was Nidoqueen, Trubbish was a bit confused. They both looked so big and strong! How come they were relying on a Rescue Team to find someone?

"Alright, that'll do it." Trubbish said as he and Sableye dismounted Rapidash. "Thanks for the ride!" After Sableye got the bag filled with supplies from Rapidash, the majestic Pokemon trotted off back to the village.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" Nidoqueen sobbed happily as she and her mate ran over to the team.

"Team Putrid at your service!" Sableye introduced as he gave a quick bow. "I'm Sableye, and my partner over there is Trubbish. We came because of your note, correct?"

"Yes, yes. We're so lucky that we were able to get a roaming Pidgey to deliver it to your village." Nidoking said, "But that's not the point. The point is that my mate and I are traders. We collect a variety of goods around this region, and we made a stop here before heading out to your village."

"We let our son Azurill go play in the forest while we took a rest here, as long as he stayed close to us." Nidoqueen explained, tears in her eyes as she shook her head in self-loathing. "But of course, due to being a child, it was to be expected that he'd just run away from us! And we were stupid for not realizing what could happen! Take a look at these webs!" Nidoqueen sniffled as she directed the two's attention to a large wad of yellow silk that was wrapped around a tree. As Trubbish waddled over to it, his eyes widened in wonder as he watched the silk give off sparks. "That's Galvantula silk! Oh no, what if one of those monsters ate our baby?!" Nidoqueen proceeded to sob uncontrollably, her husband joining in as he slumped down in shame. Trubbish's eyes widened when he heard the news.

"E-EATEN?! You mean, by other Pokemon?!" Sableye gave him a confused stare.

"Uh, yeah. Dude, what planet have you been living on? Unlike Pokemon like us guys in civilized areas like Pinnacle Village, Pokemon in wild, untamed areas like these woods pretty much live a 'Mon-eat-'Mon life. That means that we're probably going to have to fight at some point." Sableye explained.

'_F-f-fight?! I'm going to have to fight feral Pokemon? And from the look of that silk, I'll be fighting electric feral Pokemon! Oh no...' _Trubbish was relieved to see Sableye at the sides of the crying parents, attempting to comfort them the best he could. The last thing he wanted his partner to see was him shivering in fear.

"We'd save our baby ourselves, but we can't." Nidoqueen sniffed, as she and her husband wiped away their tears. "We're afraid of Galvantula. I know that we'd be more than a match for them, but their silk is tough for even Pokemon like us to escape from if we're caught!"

"That, and they just look unnerving!" Nidoking said, shuddering as he imagined the hairy, electrical bugs trying to munch on him and his wife on a past visit to these woods. Giving a sigh, Nidoking looked down at the ground in shame. "Our thick, armor-like skin is able to resist electricity quite a bit. We're just... we're just too cowardly."

"Look, you two. You guys are afraid of what lives in those woods, we understand! That's why you needed a rescue team! And boy oh boy, the right guys came to help, alright! We'll fight as many of these Galvantula as we need to rescue your kid. Right, Trubbish?" Sableye asked, as his partner shivered a bit in fear.

"Uh... yeah! You sure picked the right guys!" Trubbish chuckled, while slightly panicking in his mind. _'I didn't sign up for this job to be eaten, you know... man, why did it look so easy and so cool when Gliscor saved me from Aggron?!'_ Trubbish tried his best to do a convincing grin as Nidoking and Nidoqueen gave tearful smiles.

"Oh, we sense the courage in your heart, you brave young men." Nidoqueen sniffled, "Please, please return our son to us! He's the only one we can ever have..." she trailed away, looking down steadily at the floor. Turning away, Team Putrid turned around, and entered the foreboding, sinister woods known as Generator Woods. And Trubbish found himself wondering more and more if he really was hero material. From what he heard from the desperate parents, this mission was not shaping out to be all fun and games as he previously thought.


	7. Chapter 6: Clash With Team Razorclaw

Chapter 6: Clash with Team Razorclaw

"Hey, Sableye?" Trubbish squeaked, trying his best to keep his voice steady.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Pausing to think, Sableye observed his surroundings. The thick canopy of the leafy trees obscured a good deal of the sunlight, causing his diamond eyes to glint eerily in the faint glow of the sun and the sparking of the nearby electric webs.

"Hmm... you know, that is a good question." Sableye chuckled nervously to Trubbish's chagrin.

"Are you KIDDING ME?!" Trubbish groaned loudly, causing unseen bird Pokemon to stir in the few tree branches not touched by the electric webbing.

"Hey, don't get mad at me, buddy. Besides, remember that we don't have a set location to go. Azurill could be anywhere! For all we know, we could find him in like, five minutes. Heck, this could be a blessing in disguise!" Sableye reasoned, peering around the gloomy landscape.

'_You know what? He's got a point. I mean, he really isn't in a definitive area from what we know.' _Trubbish's spirits lifted considerably as his negative thoughts began to dissipate. '_You know... when you get past the fact that this forest is filled with these Galvantula Pokemon that eat you if you get stuck on their webs, this place is real pretty!' _Trubbish couldn't help but admire the powerful, towering trees as they touched the sky, the crackling electricity coating them in an eerie glow. While making your way through a dark forest would normally be terrifying, the faint hum of the webs and the resulting yellow glow gave the area a serene, almost peaceful feel.

"Wow, Sableye! Look at these!" Trubbish gasped, clamping a hand over his gaping mouth (Which he soon pulled back due to the repugnant taste wafting to his taste buds).

Over to the side of the path the two of them have been taking (Or at least, the closest thing to a path that they could use), there was a cluster of rather peculiar fungi. They were rather large, with stems that were about as thick as Sableye's body, and their caps were large and quite poofy as well. As impressive as their sizes were, they weren't the main reason why these mushrooms were so eye-catching. No, what drew the attention of Team Putrid was the soft, aquamarine glow that illuminated the parts of the forest floor that were left untouched by what little sunbeams poked through the forest's canopy.

"C'mon, man. They're just mushrooms, you know." Sableye scoffed as he continued on his way.

"What? Hey, don't you think that they at least look cool?" Trubbish called in annoyance by Sableye's startling lack of appreciation to this oddity in nature. "I mean, I don't usually see these kinds of mushrooms in your everyday life! Look at them! They are GLOWING MUSHROOMS!"

"So what? I saw them quite a bit in the cavern system I grew up in. Seriously man, get your mind on to rescuing that Azurill." Realizing that he couldn't get Sableye's attention no matter what he did, Trubbish gave a long, loud sigh, and continued on his way.

"So, what does an Azurill look like anyway?" Realizing that Trubbish had no way of knowing what their target looked like, Sableye crouched down, and brushed some leaves away from the ground. With a single claw, he quickly did a crude sketch of a small and round looking creature with a tail almost as big as the body trailing off.

"This, my friend, is an Azurill. Cute little fella, isn't he?" Sableye chuckled, obviously proud of his work. Staring down at the picture, Trubbish furrowed his brow in mild confusion.

"Wait, didn't Nidoking and Nidoqueen say he was their son?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, he doesn't look anything like them! I mean, didn't you see them? They're all big and spiky and covered with armor!" Trubbish said, making a point y waving his arms to emphasize their height. "And look at him!" he cried, pointing at the crude drawing, "He's so tiny, and round, and adorable! He doesn't look anything like them!"

"Hey, he could be adopted. Or, he could just be like a son to them. You don't know." Sableye retorted, giving a simple shrug. "Alright, we've wasted enough time here already, buddy. C'mon" And with that, the team continued on their trek through the forest, Trubbish staying ever alert in case some nasty, violent Pokemon decided to sneak up on them.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Alright you two, let's stop right here. Sneasel, you keep an eye on the kid. Gurdurr, I suggest you get to work." Meowth yawned as he climbed onto a fallen log and sprawled out flat on his back, eagerly soaking up a few warm rays of sun that had infiltrated the forest an anguished mental sigh, Gurdurr dropped to his knees, and begun crawling around the forest floor. As he grabbed piles of dead leaves, their brittle, dead forms crumbling apart in his meaty hands, he couldn't help but wonder, '_You know, this is pretty funny. Meowth rescued me from a life of manual labor, or so I thought. Turns out, that's exactly what I'm doing here.' _Giving a soft sigh, he continued his futile search for those evolutionary stones his boss desired so much.

"No offense, boss, but are you sure that these stones you're looking for are just going to be laying around on the ground?" Meowth turned around to face Gurdurr, his eyes rolling into the back of his head in annoyance.

"They've got to be somewhere in these woods! The best place to start would be the obvious areas, because things like these tend to be overlooked by simpletons such as yourself." Meowth sneered as Gurdurr continued his task, his face slightly burning in humiliation. Leaving the large, clownish Pokemon to his task, he turned to face Sneasel. '_Good old Sneasel, always reliable in a pinch.' _Meowth thought as he smugly grinned at his lithe, sleek henchman, '_I knew the minute we crossed paths that he'd be a good guy to have around.'_ His eyes wandering down to Sneasel's paws, Meowth felt a little bit envious at the size of Sneasel's claws. Looking down at his own paws, he felt a bit disappointed, as his own claws were mere nubs in comparison.

"Hey, I'm getting hungry!" Azurill moaned, causing Meowth to lose his train of thought. As the poor little hostage's stomach began to grumble, Sneasel looked down at him in pity.

"Hey boss, there are plenty of Wacan Berries growing on the nearby bushes. I think he needs a little something to eat!" Sneasel called out. Upon hearing this, Meowth walked over to where Sneasel was keeping an eye on Azurill, and grabbed a cluster of the yellow pacifier-shaped berries from a bush. As he came to a stop before the two, he held out the bush right above the little Pokemon, who's mouth started to water.

"Aw, you hungry, little guy?" Meowth asked, his tone showing genuine concern. Azurill responded with quick, enthusiastic nodding. "Look at you, you don't have any arms to pluck them off with!" Meowth noted, causing the little Azurill to giggle in embarrassment

"Yeah, mister. Mommy and Daddy have to feed me, at least until I grow up into a big, strong Marill!" Chuckling at Azurill's enthusiasm, Meowth cut a few Wacan berries free from the bush. Looking on from his futile attempts to find Meowth's Thunderstones, Gurdurr couldn't help but feel a smile spreading in the corners of his mouth. '_Aw, that's kinda sweet. Who would have known that Meowth would have a soft spot for kids, even if he's kidnapping them?' _It was moments like these that reminded Gurdurr why he chose to follow Meowth. Picking up one of the berries in his paw, Meowth dangled it right in front of Azurill's face.

"Alright, I know you're pretty hungry. Now, close your eyes..." Azurill immediately jammed his eyes shut, keeping his mouth widely open in anticipation for his meal. Giving a sneaky smirk, Meowth instead popped the berry into his mouth, moaning in delight as the sweet, waxy berry disappeared down his throat. "Oh my word! Now these are some good berries!" Meowth sneered, licking his lips as he looked down at his hostage. Opening his eyes, Azurill noticed that Meowth had finished off the berry, and from the looks of things, he was about to do the same to the rest of them.

"HEY! That's not fair! Let me have one!" he screamed indignantly, much to Meowth's amusement. Flashing a smug grin at the annoyed Pokemon, Meowth crammed the rest of the Wacan Berries into his mouth, chewing them nice and long before he banished them to his stomach with a big gulp.

"Those hit the spot, kiddo. Wacan Berries are delicious." Meowth's voice was shaky as he tried his best to hold back his laughter at the Pokemon's misfortune. Tears began to form in Azurill's eyes as he realized that he was tricked.

"W-w-why? Why did you do that! I'm really hungry!" Azurill sobbed loudly as Meowth broke into roaring laughter.

"Oh, you'll be fine, you little whiner! A little missed meal won't hurt you!" As Azurill continued to sob in frustration, Sneasel flashed a death glare towards his boss, his eyes burning hatefully into his soul. Realizing what Sneasel was doing, Meowth threw his paws up in annoyance. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"You teased a child with food, boss! How could you do something so messed up like that?!" Sneasel yelled as Azurill tried to compose himself. Rolling his eyes, Meowth placed a paw on Sneasel's shoulder in an almost understanding way.

"It's like this, Sneasel. He's our hostage, and it's all because he wandered into the area where we were conducting our operations. He decided to mess with us, so in return, we punish him. It's a simple act of disciplinary measures." Having been listening in on the whole incident, Gurdurr felt incensed by his boss' behavior towards the kidnapped Azurill. '_That poor kid! That Meowth... oh, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind, alright!" _

"Who cares if he's our hostage? He's just a kid, you know!" Gurdurr hollered as he rose to his feet. As Meowth turned his head, Gurdurr grabbed his beam and strode over to his boss at a quick pace.

"Who gave you permission to stop looking for Thunderstones? Not me, that's for sure. Now get back to work, and learn to keep your disgusting face out of other people's business!" Meowth hissed as Sneasel looked on in fear.

"No, I'm not keeping out of this! You know, ever since I joined up with you, I've noticed how you treat the Pokemon around you!" Gurdurr roared as he thrust a meaty finger in Meowth's face, "You treat me like a pack mule whenever I'm not acting as your dumb muscle, you're being a bully to this frightened little kid-"

"Gurdurr! As the brains and therefore the leader of this operation, I can treat others however I want. I don't have to be nice to a prisoner, and I don't have to be nice to a lug like you!" Meowth interrupted as he got to his feet. Seeing as how the angry pair were completely focused on each other, Sneasel picked up the hungry Azurill, and quietly took him over to a nearby bush of Wacan berries, which Azurill devoured happily.

"Why do you hate me so much, boss? For weeks, I've done nothing but my best to please you! No matter how many feral Pokemon I take down, or how many merchants I help you jump, you always treat me like garbage! I sure don't see you treating Sneasel that way!" Upon hearing that, Sneasel's heart sank a little. He knew that his boss prefered him over his friend Gurdurr, but he always went out of his way to look like he didn't notice. Chuckling in an icy tone, Meowth stared Gurdurr dead in the eye.

"Oh, so you want to know why I treat you the way I do, eh? You want to know why I appreciate Sneasel for the help he's given me while I degrade you so endlessly?"

'_No. I only asked you because I wasn't hoping for a response.'_ Gurdurr sniggered mentally, not daring to be rude to the face of his boss. The scars on his nose slightly burnt as he thought about all the times Meowth would slash him across the face, usually without provocation.

"Well, the thing is that Sneasel is an experienced career criminal. I picked him up the last time I even dared to set foot in Pinnacle Village because I heard rumors of his skills. This very Pokemon," he announced, pointing at the nervous Sneasel who quickly scampered back to his seat with Azurill in tow, "Is infamous for being able to slip into highly guarded areas unseen. To put things into perspective, he once slipped into the village prison, you know, the one guarded by that oaf Tyranitar, for the sole purpose of stealing his records of all convicted prisoners. He was able to escape, and the poor fool had so much trouble remembering the release dates and crimes that most of the inmates committed!" Sneasel smirked, remembering all too well how flustered Sheriff Tyranitar was when he noticed that his records were missing.

"Now, let's take a look at you, Gurdurr. While I am a genius, and of that, there is no doubt, Sneasel does a lot of stealthy work that I'm not good at. Heck, he can even put up a decent fight thanks to those big old honkin' claws of his! But you? You're nothing. You have no criminal background, no history of performing great feats, nothing worth mentioning at all! If it wasn't for the fact that I needed some muscle for my plans, I never would have recruited you in the first place! If it weren't for the fact that Sneasel and I happened to pass through those mines up in the Hierro Mountains, you never would have met us! And if you never met me," Meowth sneered, pointing to himself in an incredibly pompous manner, "You'd still be stuck in those mines, slaving away for the rest of your life in a dead-end job, digging up coal and the like until you became old and grey!" Gurdurr felt his chest tighten as he remembered that faithful day... even though it was only a few weeks ago when Meowth approached him, seemingly fascinated by his herculean strength as he moved gigantic slabs of coal around the facility, it felt like an eternity had passed by. Being nagged and hassled by a Pokemon that made your boss as well as your dad (Who was the reason why Gurdurr was stuck in that job in the first place) look like saints really made time just slowly crawl by.

"You notice how the name I chose for my group of criminals is known as Team Razorclaw yet only Sneasel and I possess a pair of said body parts, while you have those enormous meaty mitts you call hands? You're ultimately expendable. I may keep you around for your strength, but that's it. I mean, it's no skin off my neck if something happens to you!" Meowth cackled, his bristled tongue leaving deeper wounds to Gurdurr's confidence each time a word flew out of his boss's mouth. His eyes wettening in humiliation, Gurdurr quickly ran his arm across his face, hoping that his boss wouldn't notice how much he wanted to cry. "Just imagine who we could have join in your place! A Zangoose, a Vigoroth... something with your bulk, but with claws and more smarts than you! Now, if you mind, you have a job to do. Get back on your hands and knees, and GET BACK TO WORK!" Meowth snarled , punctuating his forceful sentence by throwing a nearby rock at Gurdurr, beaning him dead center in the nose. Feeling his rage boil over and his face burn like red hot coals, Gurdurr swung his steel beam over his head, and smashed it into the ground threateningly.

"SHUT UP! Just shut up!" Gurdurr roared at the cowering Meowth, "I work as hard as I can for you, but no matter what I do for you, you sit there, and happily tell me that you'd rather see me die! Well, I'm _sick _of it. I'm not going to waste my time with you anymore, Meowth!" Shivering in fear, yet still angered at being yelled at in this way, Meowth drew his claws and glared at Gurdurr, an outraged look burning in his eyes.

"Gurdurr, don't you DARE do what I think you're planning to do! Without me leading you, you'll have nowhere to go! You'll either get arrested and thrown into the Pinnacle Village jail, or you'll die alone in these woods! Now get back to work NOW. I'll think of a suitable punishment for you later." Giving an agitated roar of fury, Gurdurr lunged at Meowth, who reacted with a scream as he dived away from the angered Pokemon. Stumbling back up on his feet, Gurdurr was ready to pulverize his loud mouthed boss when he suddenly froze in his tracks.

"Oh," Meowth jeered, "So it looks like-"

"Shh!" Sneasel hissed, "You hear that?" Staying completely still, the trio heard a loud rustling coming from the Wacan Berry bushes near their resting area. "I'm going to check it out."

OoOoOoOoOo

_A few minutes earlier..._

"Hey, Sableye?"

"Yeah, Trubbish?"

"I just noticed something. We've been in these woods for quite a while now. Isn't it weird that we keep seeing all these webs from those Galvantula Pokemon, yet we still haven't seen any?" Furrowing his brow, Sableye realized that Trubbish did have a point. He wasn't complaining, mind you, but it was odd that none of the creepy, multi-legged Pokemon had been seen thus far.

"You know what, buddy? You're right. I wonder what in the heck happened to them? Eh, it's nothing worth complaining about. I mean, it would suck being paralysed then having your guts sucked out by one of those guys." Trubbish shuddered violently, trying hard to get the graphic imagery out of his mind. It was stuff like that that was making him wonder if being a Rescue Team member was in fact, a good idea. '_Agh, I need to stop thinking like this!' _Trubbish thought angrily to himself, '_Look, I've got Sableye here to support me. Not only has he had to go through training to get his rescuer license, but he also has a whole lot of neat items to get us out a pinch! We'll be fine, we'll be fine...' _Trubbish was quickly thrown out of his thoughts when he collided into Sableye, who was standing perfectly still. "Trubbish, what the-?"

"Hold still, buddy. I think we've got company." Sableye hissed, baring his fangs as he tried his best to look threatening, despite his incredibly diminutive size. Trubbish froze in fear as he heard the violent rustling of several nearby plants. '_Oh no, oh no, oh no no no no NO!" _Trubbish screamed mentally as he covered his eyes, his plastic-esque body trembling so violently that you could hear the stew of rotting garbage that acted as his flesh sloshing and gurgling violently. "_It's a Galvantula, or worse, LOTS of Galvantulas! I don't want to have my guts sucked out! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!' _The rustling noise grew louder and louder as the mysterious figure (or figures) closed the distance. Right when Sableye saw a flash of yellow, he gave a yell of primal fury and leapt forth, attempting to sink his claws into their assailant. Yet, claw never made contact with skin. Instead of bringing the hurt on a Galvantula like Sableye hoped, he instead crashed onto the leafy ground, making a comical rustling noise as his small body was too light to crush the leaves.

"W-what the?!" Sableye sputtered, as he felt a small presence on his head momentarily before it vanished. Curious as to what happened. Sableye twisted his head, and soon felt more and more tiny bodies on his head before they left only seconds afterwards.

"Um, Sableye? Are these those Galvantula things that you've been warning me about? They're, uh, a lot smaller than I expected." Trubbish asked sheepishly as Sableye got back on his feet.

"Well, these little fellas sure aren't Galvantula's, that's for sure." Sableye sighed as he saw Trubbish giggling as multiple yellow Pokemon leapt at him. While they were as yellow as lemons and quite fuzzy to boot, these Pokemon were a bit too small to be the large electric spiders that he had been worried about. In fact, forget a bit, they were WAY too small to be the predatory creatures that had freaked out Trubbish. In fact, Trubbish giggled a bit as one of the Pokemon landed in the palm of his hand, its large blue eyes staring up at him innocently.

"Aw, look at him! He's so adorable!" Trubbish giggled much to Sableye's annoyance. These were Joltik, from the look of it.

"Mister! Mister! Run away! Run away!" the Joltik squeaked as it hopped out of Trubbish's hands and disappeared into the forest. As more of the tiny bug Pokemon followed suit, cries of "Big and scary!" and "Funny nose!" could be picked out from the panicky crowd. After the Joltik swarm disappeared as quickly as the came, Trubbish once again could feel fear cloud his senses.

"Uh, Sableye? What exactly did they mean by, "Big and scary?" Trubbish whimpered, imaging some sort of hulking beast lurking in the woods, waiting to chomp up any poor soul who crossed paths with it.

"Nothin' worth worrying about, kid. You notice how tiny those guys were? I mean, I easily dwarf 'em. Whatever it is that scared them is probably not that much bigger than me and you. Now calm down, man. Let's keep on go-"

"SHUT UP! Just shut up!" A booming voice roared in the distance, causing Trubbish to cling to Sableye for security.

"Whoa man, that was pretty loud..." Trubbish whimpered as Sableye tried to squirm free. "And loud voices tend to come from big, scary creatures..."

"Dude, relax," Sableye said reassuringly as he broke free from Trubbish's iron grip, "Look, we don't know if that voice came from a bad guy. For all we know, he probably saw Azurill, and he can then point us in the right direction. Look, this is no time to be a wuss." Trubbish's eyes narrowed the minute the word escaped from Sableye's lips.

"What did you say?" he hissed in an icy tone.

"I said, _wuss._ W, U, S, S. Wuss." Sableye murmured, grinning slyly. Feeling his face burn with humiliation, Trubbish straightened up and folded his arms together in a stern pose.

"So, you're gonna go there, aren't you? Well, Mr. I'm-so-brave, I'm going to see what that was first!" Trubbish cackled as he ran as fast as his little feet could go.

"Oh, no you don't!" Sableye responded as he easily overtook Trubbish due to his ungainly movements.

"Hey! No fair, Sableye! I'm not used to running like this!" Trubbish laughed as he tried to pick up the pace. As the two of them got closer to the source of the voices, the arguing grew more and more heated as they came to a stop, crashing down on some bushes. Right when they began to steady themselves, all talking on the other side seemed to stop.

"Hey, Sableye? The voices are gone." Trubbish whispered."

"Oh, really? I never noticed!" Sableye retorted as he tried peering between the Wacan Berries that grew in clusters on the bushes. "Alright, eesh... I'm not seeing much of anything except for some creepy eyes... whoa! Hold on a minute!" Sableye gasped. Before he could continue however, he was grabbed by a pair of clawed arms, and tossed out of his hiding spot.

'_Nope, oh no. Nope nope nope nope-' _Trubbish's attempts at a quick escape were foiled once he felt the pair of claws wrap around the ear-like tufts on his head. Giving a small scream, he was hoisted into the air, and unceremoniously thrown onto his rear, right next to Sableye.

"Yep, we had ourselves a couple of eavesdroppers, boss." Sneasel reported as he brushed his claws off. Trubbish felt his heart sink into the depths of his body as he noticed two other Pokemon were sitting around the campsite. One was rather large and gray, with bulging veins and rather large red nose (Trubbish made a careful note to avoid the large steel beam he was carrying) while the other looked like a small cat, but with a gleaming coin attached to his forehead. Those two along with the dark, clawed Pokemon made quite the fearsome trio. '_I get the strangest feeling that they aren't on our side...' _Trubbish thought nervously as the cat Pokemon's mouth twisted into a rather nasty grin.

"So... looks like that kid we found earlier wasn't the only Pokemon that happened to stumble into these woods today after all. Great job, Sneasel!" The Pokemon sneered, addressing the clawed Pokemon who had grabbed the both of them.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sableye gasped, as he saw their target peering from behind the hulking grey Pokemon, "That's Azurill! Why's he with you three?"

"Hey, I'M the one asking the questions around here, you little weasel! Why are YOU so concerned about the kid anyway?" the Pokemon snarled, a vein popping in his forehead.

"Hey, boss Meowth, will you calm down?" the large Pokemon asked, placing a meaty hand on Meowth's shoulder, which he responded to with a hiss and a slash to the hand.

"Know your place Gurdurr, you hulking imbecile!" Meowth screeched as Sableye and Trubbish exchanged annoyed glances. This did not slip past Meowth's radar, the prideful Scratchcat Pokemon's face quickly turned an ugly maroon color.

"I saw that! Hmph, it looks like you two have no idea who you're dealing with." Meowth gave a wide grin as he slowly began to pace around the cornered Pokemon. "Well then, allow me to introduce myself. I am Meowth, the clawed one over there is Sneasel, and that hulking brute watching over the kid is Gurdurr. And we, are team Razorclaw!" he then gave a dramatic pause, hoping for some kind of recognition. Unfortunately for him, all he got was a few blank stares and the sound of total silence as Trubbish and Sableye simply gave him a blank stare.

"Never heard of you guys." Trubbish yawned, trying to stretch to the best of his ability.

"Like my pal said, you don't ring a bell at all." Sableye said, fighting back his own yawn. Irritated, Meowth began to angrily mumble under his breath for a while, filling the air with jumbled swears and other foul words before he came to a pause.

"Hmph, no matter. It seems to me that you two are ignorant as to who's important around these parts. You see, I am a simple, humble Pokemon with a genius intellect. And as you both know, storms have been just brutalizing this poor world that we know and love." Meowth chuckled softly as not just Trubbish and Sableye, but Sneasel and Gurdurr rolled their eyes as well, "Now whenever these kinds of disasters break out, there are plenty of Pokemon that are migrating to different areas that will hopefully remain untouched by these storms. And whenever we have refugees fleeing their homes... they tend to bring as many of their belongings as they can. Now, do you two see where I'm going with this?" Trubbish ground his teeth in anger as he balled his sloppy grey hands into fists.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you are. You're some thug who's looking to make some quick cash off of the suffering of others!" Trubbish yelled, anger audible in his tone. Giving a sleazy cackle, Meowth continued with his long-winded tirade.

"I prefer the term Opportunistic Genius myself. You see, I'm a Pokemon with a very business oriented mind. Whenever people are being displaced, it's very wise to jump at the opportunity to, eh, profit off of what happens. The reason I'm in this forest is because of the fact that there are so many electric Pokemon native to this place, lots of Thunderstones are going to be found here. The demand for evolutionary stones like them is going to be sky high! Since they are important to a Pokemon's growth, and given how a Pokemon gets incredibly strong as they evolve and grow, every Pokemon and their mother is going to hunt down these stones so they can survive the wilderness and it's harsh trials. And due to their importance, it's illegal to sell these anywhere. Well, guess what?" Meowth paused, waiting for a response.

"What?" Sableye sighed impatiently as he fiddled around in his supply sack.

"They fetch quite the price on the black market! And let me tell you, digging around in these woods is looking to be quite profitable, especially now that little Azurill over here has changed everything up!" As Meowth finished his speech, Azurill stared at the rescue team, his large eyes watering in fear. Flashing a quick smile of reassurance to the frightened child, Trubbish turned to Meowth as Sableye slipped a round, solid object into his hand.

"So, it looks like you kidnapped the poor guy after all!" Trubbish yelled as Meowth's grin became even toothier, his crooked fangs jutting out in a sinister grin.

"Why yes, infact I did. And boy oh boy, will his parents pay quite a handsome sum for him! Combine him with all these Thunderstones just waiting to be found, and I'll be richer than I could ever dream of!" Meowth cackled as he unsheathed his claws. "And I'm guessing you two are a Rescue Team, huh? Figures that Azurill's parents would notice him going missing. Well, I can't have you two foiling my plans now, can I?"

"Actually, you can." Sableye said, grinning deviously, "Trubbish, NOW!" Trubbish tightly gripped the object that Sableye slipped him, which was a round, clear orb with a spiral pattern engraved on it, and hurled it straight at Meowth. Giving a fearful scream, Meowth was hit in the face by the orb, and upon impact, it blasted him backwards, ramming Gurdurr in the stomach which caused Azurill to break free.

"Azurill! Get over here right now!" Trubbish hollered at the newly-freed Pokemon. Not even needing to think twice, Azurill broke out in a swift run and joined Trubbish and Sableye's side. While Meowth and Gurdurr tried (and failed) to stumble to their feet, Sneasel lept in fron of the trio, getting into a primal stance as he stared them down.

"Whoa now, you aren't leaving!" Sneasel snarled as he lept forward, delivering a horizontal slash to Sableye's face. Luckily for him, Trubbish had thought one step ahead, and tossed another one of those orbs, and sent Sneasel flying several yards until he hit a tree with a sickening "WHAM!".

"Thank you, buddy!" Sableye called, giving Trubbish a thumbs up!"

"No problem! Now, let's get out of here!" Trubbish hollered as the three of them disappeared into the forest. As they ducked past bushes and cobwebs, Trubbish could feel his heart fluttering in his chest. He couldn't quite explain it, but he had felt this kind of delirious, furious kind of high the minute he tossed the Blowback Orb at Meowth. While he was quite afraid at the prospect of being shred into ribbons by Sneasel's rather nasty claws, or being smashed into a fine paste by Gurdurr's metal beam, he couldn't help but want to double back and beat them senseless. '_So this is what it feels to be a rescuer, eh?'_

"Whoa, Trubbish! Look out!" Sableye yelled as Trubbish looked back and saw a cream-colored blur flying right at him. Not having enough time to react, Trubbish went flying for several feet as he realized that the blur was Meowth, being propelled at a high speed thanks to a powerful swing from Gurdurr's beam. Clinging to the fallen Trubbish, Meowth raised his left paw, his claws glimmering in the eerie glow of the forest.

So you thought that you'd get away with disrespecting me, friend?" Meowth hissed as he swiped Trubbish across the face, causing him to give a pained yelp as the claws raked across his plastic skin. "Well guess what, partner? I'm going to disrespect you right back. How does a makeover sound to you? Be careful, I haven't received formal training!" As Meowth raised his paw in the air again, Trubbish thought back to when he was cornered by Aggron, and had spit a stinging sludge into his eyes to escape from his clutches. Concentrating, Trubbish could feel a burning, boiling feeling in the pit of his stomach as he began to retch. Pausing in mid-swing, Meowth stared down at Trubbish in a perplexed manner. "What the- what in the world is wrong with you?"

Trubbish answered with an almighty retch, spewing a purple spray of sludge into Meowth's eyes. As the Pokemon yowled in pain, clutching his paws to his eyes in an attempt to nullify the searing pain, Trubbish continued his escape, looking desperately for Sableye and Azurill.

"Hold up there, stinky!" Sneasel howled as he made his way springing from tree to tree, quickly closing the distance between him and Trubbish. As he landed, Gurdurr arrived and blocked off the other side, gripping to his beam as tightly as he could.

"Look kid, I've got nothing against you. I really don't." Gurdurr said,in a genuinely honest tone. "But given how things are going now, I don't really have a choice but to beat you like a punching bag." Lifting his beam, Gurdurr twisted around a bit, then swung forth with as much force as he could muster, giving an almighty yell of "I'M SORRY!" as Trubbish lept to the side, barely dodging it. Instead, the beam connected with a nearby tree, and it tore off a chunk of the tree trunk. While Gurdurr fought to free his beam, Sneasel picked up the slack and knocked Trubbish over with a quick dashing attack. He then followed up with a quick slash, which Trubbish barely dodged by rolling out of the way. As he struggled to get on his feet as quickly as he could, Trubbish was floored again by a swift kick courtesy of Gurdurr, who had pried his weapon free from the tree.

"Face it, kid!" Sneasel hissed as he raised a claw that quickly became coated by a metallic substance, "There's no way you'll be able to take on the two of us combined!"

"Make that the three of us!" the shrill voice of Meowth yelled as he joined the fray, his bloodshot eyes burning with a fierce hatred for the poor garbage bag Pokemon. "Let me get the first hit! He's going to pay for what he did to my poor, burning eyes!" '_Oh, come on! Ugh, Sableye...' _Trubbish thought bleakly as the three Pokemon began to slowly close the distance.

"Whoa, no no no!" Trubbish's spirits rose considerably when he heard the familiar voice of his partner yell from a short distance away. "You creeps stay away from my friend!" The second Meowth twisted his head in the direction that he heard the sound come from, he screamed in pain as a smooth, round stone smacked him in the face. Watching Team Razorclaw's leader roll around on the ground, Trubbish quickly made a beeline to his friend and the Pokemon they had been attempting to rescue.

"Thank you, Sableye!" Trubbish gasped as they continued sprinting into the forest.

"Hey, it's no big deal." Sableye answered as Gurdurr and Sneasel continued their chase. "Nothing a nice Gravelerock couldn't handle."

"Hey, Sableye? We're still being chased!" Trubbish yelled as he saw the duo of criminal Pokemon chase after them, "You have any battle plans?"

"Well, if you remember those two orbs you used to blow away Meowth and his buddies, I've got a neat one that will teleport us to the forest's entrance. Problem is, it'll teleport anyone who's close to it, and if we don't put enough distance between us and those guys, our problem won't be solved at all." Sableye explained.

"Well, what can we do about it?" Trubbish asked as Gurdurr and Sneasel began to close the distance.

"Don't worry, dude. I've got a plan for this. But first, we'll have to fight 'em. Are you ready?" After Trubbish gave a quick nod, Sableye, Trubbish, and Azurill all came to a swift halt, causing the duo pursuing them to stop as well. As the trio bunched up together, Sneasel and Gurdurr began to pace around them.

"So, you guys chose to stop running, eh?" Sneasel sneered as he readied his claws for an attack, "That's good. Now it's time to stop all this running around and get that kid back!" Unleashing a war cry, Sneasel leapt towards Sneasel and Trubbish while Gurdurr charged at them head-first. Right when both ruffians were about to connect with their marks, the trio all jumped out of the way, causing them to painfully crash into each other.

"Hah! Later losers!" Sableye cackled as he began to rummage around in his sack for the Escape Orb. Unfortunately for him, Sneasel was pretty quick on his feet, and managed to leap towards the escaping rescue team.

"Oh, no you DON'T!" Sneasel roared as he pounced on Sableye and knocked him to the ground.

"Sableye!" Trubbish screamed as he ran up to join the fray. "Hang on, I'm coming to help you!"

"I've got this! Just keep Azurill safe and find that Escape Orb!" Sableye grunted as he and Sneasel wrestled with each other on the ground, kicking up leaves and snapping twigs the whole time. Doubling back in hopes of grabbing the bag, Trubbish was instead greeted by a metal beam to the face, causing him to go flying into a nearby tree. After colliding with a loud "THUD!", Trubbish saw Gurdurr bend over and grab the sack as well as Azurill, and he began to run back to Meowth with both of their quarry in tow.

"Oh no, oh no, I'm not letting you get away with that!" Trubbish snarled as he looked around, wondering how he'd be able to stop the escaping Pokemon. His eyes rested on a cluster of the large, puffy mushrooms he noticed earlier, and he suddenly felt a switch flip on in his brain. He took a second to get some momentum, then he ran as fast as he could to the cluster of mushrooms, and he threw himself at them with every bit of his weight that he could muster. The fungi crumpled underneath his weight, only to send him soaring through the air a second later, right towards Gurdurr.

"Hey! Big guy!" Trubbish hollered as Gurdurr turned around.

"Aw, nuts." Gurdurr moaned as Trubbish landed, clinging onto his face. With Trubbish throwing him off balance, Gurdurr hollered as he crashed onto the floor, releasing Azurill and Trubbish from his grip.

"Wow! Thanks, Mister!" Azurill cheered as Trubbish stood on Gurdurr's chest.

"No problem! Now, take that sack with you and go as far as you can!" Trubbish called, feeling a sense of pride for being complimented for his work. Biting onto the edge of the bag, Azurill hauled it away with him with surprisingly little difficulty. Noticing he was getting away, Gurdurr swatted Trubbish away, and got back on his feet.

"Alright kid, now you're just being a pain to deal with!" Gurdurr yelled as he smacked Trubbish in the face with an open palm, causing him to fall back on the ground. Determined not to give up, Trubbish quickly got up and leapt at Gurdurr's face again. Seeing as this already happened, Gurdurr was able to throw an arm up in self-defense, causing Trubbish to end up clinging to his hand. Seizing his body with both his hands, Gurdurr bought Trubbish up to his face, and began glaring at him.

"Gee, for someone who looks an awful like a sack of human waste, you're putting up more of a fight than I'd have thought!" Gurdurr admitted, feeling a bit impressed by Trubbish's efforts. "Still, I've gotta use this chance to show Meowth that I mean something to him! I'm sorry, kid!" Refusing to give up, Trubbish took note of the large red nose that was smack-dab in the center of Gurdurr's face. Noticing plenty of claw-marks in it, Trubbish had an idea. Raising an arm, he quickly slapped Gurdurr in the face, specifically smack-dab in the dead center of his a cry of pain, Gurdurr released Trubbish as he clung to his nose in an attempt to ease the pain. Taking off again, Trubbish lept at another pile of mushrooms, using the springiness to propel him back to where Sableye was fighting Sneasel. It seems that the two had done wrestling, as they were now exchanging blows with their claws.

"You know, for a rescue team leader, you sure lack the ability to carry on a good fight!" Sneasel sneered as he jabbed a few times at Sableye's body, all of which he was barely able to counter. Ducking another swipe to the head, Sableye balled his clawed hand into a fist, and went straight for a punch to the gut. The blow hit Sneasel especially hard, causing him to crumple to his knees as the air was knocked out of him.

"What was that about me not being a good fighter?" Sableye chuckled as he left Sneasel clutching his stomach on the ground, gasping for air.

"Hey, Sableye! We've got to get out of here now!" Trubbish yelled as he and Azurill ran over to his side.

"Don't worry man! I'm pretty much done here!"

"Think again..." Sneasel gasped as he got back on his feet.

"Sneasel! I'm here to help!" Gurdurr announced as he joined his partner's side. '_Oh COME ON!' _Trubbish screamed in his mind as the two of them prepared to attack, '_There's no way we can beat them!' _Just as he thought that, Trubbish suddenly felt a hand clasping his back in a reassuring gesture.

"Hey man, don't you worry. What my species lacks in size and power, we make up for in other neat little tricks. Watch this!" Sableye whispered as Gurdurr charged head-first at the trio. Sableye inhaled some air, and immediately exhaled a bunch of small, purple flames at the charging Pokemon who was unable to stop in hollered in pain as he stopped in an attempt to smother the flames, which caused Sableye to flash a sinister smile.

"Won't do him any good. My Will-o-Wisp will wear off shortly, but he'll tire himself out trying to put it out. Next was Sableye, who was rushing forth while swiping with his almighty claws.

"You three have caused us enough trouble as it is! Now you'll suffer for it!" he howled as he seemingly slashed the trio in half. As their severed bodies hit the ground though, Sneasel noticed that something was off. The severed halves of the trio oozed what appeared to be cotton stuffing, their bodies on closer inspection turned out to be made out of a crude cloth-like material. "What the... oh no. NO! Gurdurr, they're getting away!" Sneasel hollered as he noticed the three of them standing quite far away, holding an orb that had a curved directional arrow engraved on the top.

"And that, ladies and gents, is the power of a good Substitute!" Sableye jeered, mock bowing at the two, "Now you have a nice day." Before Sneasel could even react, the trio were suddenly swallowed up in a brilliant display of lights, and had more or less vanished once the smoke cleared up. As the two of them stared dumbfounded at the disappearance of the team, Meowth came dashing out of the woodwork, moaning in disbelief.

"No! NO! Oh no no no no..." Meowth sobbed as he crumpled on the ground next to Gurdurr. "My ransom! My fortune... it's all gone, now..."

"Boss? We've still got those Thunderstones you talked about. You'll still get your money." Gurdurr reassured his boss, inwardly quite glad that he didn't have to do any of those young Pokemon any harm. Balling his paws into fists, Meowth turned his head quickly to Gurdurr's, his body trembling in anger the whole time.

"Are you kidding me? Are you REALLY kidding me?! We could have been so much richer after sucking all the money out of Azurill's parents after kidnapping him! But no, you two idiots had to let them escape! Now, we may as well not bother with the stones seeing as how rich we could have been!

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Gurdurr snarled as he clutched his metal beam, "It's our fault that they escaped?!"

"Of course!" Meowth snarled, "If you two showed more initiative, I'd have that rescue team out of my hair, AND I'd be making so much money off that kid! And you especially screwed up! With your bulk and brawn, you should have flattened that Trubbish and that Sableye no problem! I'm tired of having a no-good, idiotic, bumbling buffoon like you messing things up for me all the time!" Meowth then reached back, and swiped Gurdurr across the nose with his claw. Groaning in pain, Gurdurr stumbled back as Meowth jumped onto his chest, and began to swipe at his nose more and more.

"If only you put that dumb muscle of yours to good use, then I! WOULD! BE! FILTHY! RICH!" Meowth screamed as he dug his claws into Gurdurr's nose and swiped him as a means to punctuate each word. As Meowth's claws tore into Gurdurr's nose, he yelled in fear and in pain as his nose felt a burning, painful sensation each time he was smacked. He thought that this torture would never end, until suddenly, Meowth dismounted his chest, and spat at his feet. Feeling tears flowing down his face, Gurdurr began to let out huge, tearful and choking sobs as his shoulders heaved heavily from all the humiliation and abuse he had to deal with the past couple of weeks. He knew that it was not a good idea to show these kinds of emotions in front of his boss, but Gurdurr couldn't help it. As he bawled into his hands, Sneasel tried to approach him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder as he continued to cry in frustration and in self-hatred.

"Sneasel, don't bother pitying that pathetic piece of trash!" Meowth snarled as he pulled Sneasel away from his suffering friend. "Just look at you. Pathetic! Absolutely disgusting, watching you and your huge, ugly self sitting there, sobbing like a baby!" Gurdurr looked up from the ground and stared straight at his boss. Through his bleary vision, he could see Meowth slowly distorting in his vision. As he continued to do this, he could see Meowth slowly change color. A deep crimson shade seemed to creep into his vision as Meowth disappeared in the sea of red, Gurdurr's vision shaking as he could feel himself quickly going from sad to being filled with nothing but rage and loathing for the boss that put him through so much suffering. He didn't even have to think too hard as he subconsciously grabbed his beam and slowly strode towards Meowth.

"Gurdurr! I demand you to stop right there!" Meowth yelled, which Gurdurr simply ignored. Nothing, NOTHING that he did was EVER good enough for Meowth.

"Gurdurr, stop it! I-I mean it!"

No matter how hard he tried to complete any given task...

"Gurdurr! Stop it! Please?"

No matter how good he did, he was never praised...

"Hey, look! Stop it! Take... take it easy!"

If he failed, he'd have those blasted claws tear up his face as a reminder that he'd never be good enough...

"Hey! HEY! Look, I'm seriously sorry! Okay? Gurdurr, cut it out! Gurdurr!" Meowth could feel the fear rising in his chest, he had done it. As Gurdurr slowly yet menacingly strode over to him, his eyes glowing with an unholy hatred for him, he realized that he had caused Gurdurr to finally snap. Now, there was absolutely no going back as Gurdurr was now determined to absolutely flatten him.

"Gurdurr... I'm sorry! Seriously, I'm really really sorry!" Meowth begged as he tried to escape, only to be grabbed by the tail by Gurdurr's oversized hand."No, please! Please don't hurt me! Gurdurr, no!" Mustering all the strength that he could, Gurdurr pulled back, then flung Meowth into the air, smirking as he screamed in fear as he made his way back down. Gripping his beam in both hands, Gurdurr, wound the beam up a bit in anticipation for its target, then with an almighty clang, he smacked Meowth hard enough to send him flying straight out of the forest. Realizing that he had given his tormenter the boot, Gurdurr found a hint of a smile creeping up on the edges of his face.

"I'm... I'm free..."


End file.
